The Other Victor
by DKAllayna
Summary: After Katniss leaves for the Hunger Games, Gale runs into a strange girl in the woods outside District 12. This stranger causes him to realize that some things just can't be taken for granted, especially things the Capitol wants you to believe.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Thanks for reading! This is my first Hunger Games fanfic, although I have a few other stories in a few other categories so I'm not unused to this whole story-writing process.**_

_**So, this came to me when I was thinking about Gale, and the end of Mockingjay; to me, Gale had a very unsatisfactory ending. Surprising, right? (I'm Team Peeta all the way, btw, but I had to give Gale his redemption). Basically, this is The Hunger Games through Gale's perspective, but with a little twist. This first chapter's kinda short, but they'll get longer, I promise! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**_

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**C****hapter One**

Gale was hunting again.

That was, in itself, unremarkable, as he spent nearly all of his spare time hunting, but that particular day just felt strange and... _different_ somehow.

At first he wasn't exactly sure why. The forest wasn't any different than usual; game practically leaped into his snares, since it was the height of summer and everything was out and about. There was an abundance of green, leafy flora- again, unsurprising, considering the season. A chorus of mockingjays twittered off in the distance, echoing whatever it was that caught their fancy, while other birds tried hopefully to join in. Those other birds failed miserably; one just couldn't compete with the majesty of a mockingjay.

Gale finally placed the strange feeling as he turned to comment on it to Katniss.

She wasn't there.

It was another moment before he could remember exactly why she was gone.

Bitter memories assailed him: him suggesting to Katniss that they run away together on the dawn of reaping day, Prim's name- of all names!- being drawn from the bowl by the idiot Effie Trinket, Katniss volunteering to take her sister's place, District 12's unanimous three-fingered salute in honor of Gale's best friend. The brave Katniss Everdeen, the only person from District 12 to ever volunteer for the Hunger Games. _And she will be the third person to win from District 12._

He recalled those last moments together in the Justice Building. He had told her that she could win those Games, that killing humans wasn't all that different from hunting animals, that he would provide for her family until she came back. Not necessarily in that order.

Not necessarily true.

How could he know what it was like to kill a human? He'd never done it before. The Capitol people did, though, every year, and they didn't seem to... Gale decided not to finish that thought. He decided that those idiots just didn't care what they did.

But he had told her what she needed to hear, and he was going to try his hardest to carry out his part of the bargain, despite the fact that it would be hard all by himself.

However, it was the least he could do after what she had done.

Anger surged through him then, anger at the harsh, uncaring Capitol, anger at Katniss for sacrificing herself to the Capitol, anger at the districts for rebelling in the first place and bringing all this down on their heads... It all came back down to the Capitol; every bit of it was the Capitol's fault. He hoped that Katniss would win, because if she didn't, he didn't know what he would do. Well, start a war, probably. The thought brought a wry smirk to his lips.

Gale forced himself back to the present as he neared one of the snares that he had placed closest to the fence. He swiftly shook off his early-morning disorientation and checked the trap to discover that he'd caught a rabbit. Grimly pleased, he removed the rabbit from his snare and dropped it into his game bag.

Glancing around warily, he rose slowly to his feet, reaching for his knife; the strange feeling had returned. Now it was manifesting itself in the form of a weird prickling at the back of his neck, as if his hair was standing on end. He absently rubbed the spot as he peered into the trees, pivoting slowly to search for the source of his discomfort. He cursed the predawn darkness, which made it nearly impossible to see anything.

It was another few moments before he realized that the strange feeling was familiar, and another few seconds before he could place it exactly.

He was being watched.

Now this was a common feeling when you were in the woods- the more cautious animals always kept a close eye on anything treading through their territory- but rarely had he felt it with so much intensity.

He wondered if it had to do with Katniss being gone. Perhaps the sensation had been dampened with someone at his side as she took some of the stares, or maybe it had just been easier to ignore.

Perhaps someone had figured out his "secret".

Gale and Katniss had been hunting in the woods for years, so it wasn't exactly unknown that they went through the fence (or, rather, underneath it). The Peacekeepers generally didn't care as long as they returned with meat to trade, although it wasn't entirely unlikely that a new Peacekeeper had arrived and followed him out of curiosity. But if it was Peacekeepers, they would have already confronted him and forced him back within the confines of the fence. Technically, he could get in big trouble for hunting out past the fence. Like, whipping or maybe even bullet-in-the-head kind of trouble.

So it probably wasn't a person.

His mind inadvertently flashed back to the time Katniss had been followed around for a huge lynx for days on end, and a smile leapt unbidden to his face. It disappeared just as quickly when he thought of her in the train at that very moment on her way to the Capitol. Shaking his head, he reigned in his mind again; he was probably just being followed by a big cat. The thought caused his hold on the knife to tighten, although the idea that he wasn't being tracked by a human was mildly reassuring. He wondered if he was just jumpy from worrying about Katniss in the arena. He shook his head again and continued on through the forest, berating himself inwardly for standing around like a suspicious idiot and wasting time that he could have used for hunting...

He walked several hundred yards, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

As a result, he found himself moving faster and glancing repeatedly over his shoulder while he systematically checked his snares. He even inadvertently startled a group of crows at one point, something he hadn't done since he had first started hunting in these woods.

He wished Katniss was there to shoot those birds down. His aim was nowhere near as perfect as hers.

Gale grimaced at the thought of his best friend. Here he was, freaking out over a funny feeling, while she was undoubtedly on her way to the Capitol at that very moment!

_Crack._

_What was that?_

Gale whirled around, scowling and clutching his knife. Animals definitely didn't make that kind of sound when they stepped on twigs, unless it was a bear... and Gale rarely saw those.

He waited in a slight crouch, still hanging on tightly to his knife, straining his ears, rigid as a statue. A breeze picked up then, ruffling his thick, dark hair; a rooster crowed in the distance as the sun finally peeked above the horizon. His family would be rising right about then, so Rory and Vick could get ready for school, which was exactly what he should have also been doing right at that very moment.

Gale, on the other hand, still didn't twitch a muscle. He knew he needed to get home, but he refused to move until he figured out what was watching him. He could sense another presence out there, probably as still as he was; and he wasn't going to ignore it- whatever it was- only to be stabbed or shot in the back the minute he made an attempt to move away.

A part of his mind wondered briefly if this was what Katniss was going to feel like when she went into the arena. The feel of being the hunted, rather than the hunter.

No, Katniss could take care of herself. Just like Gale needed to at that very moment.

Finally, he dared to speak up. "Who's there?"

Something, several yards off in the trees, shifted. It was barely audible, but he definitely heard _something_ that sounded out of place. In fact, if he hadn't been paying attention, he would have attributed it to the breeze.

"I know you're out there," he stated, beginning to grow impatient; even a hunter's patience isn't infinite. Especially not when the hunter is Gale. "You might as well come out now, unless you'd rather I track you down and-"

A girl stepped out of the trees.

The first thing he noticed about her was her eyes. They were green- bright, emerald green.

And they struck him as incredibly familiar, though the memory of them felt like it was dancing just past his fingertips.

She gazed at him haughtily with those bright green eyes, as poised as (what Gale imagined) a princess would look like.

Other than her eyes, though, she had the general look of one who was born in the Seam, definitely not a princess. Olive skin, dark hair. Slender, but not as skinny as most Seam families looked: decently well-fed, but she obviously didn't eat as well as the Capitolites. On closer inspection, though, he realized that despite the fact that her hair was dark, it was slightly different than the hair of most girls that he saw. It was almost an unnaturally glossy, jet black color, very long- Gale guessed it fell nearly to her waist- and _incredibly _curly. She had it pulled up into a ponytail, but it was so thick it didn't appear to make much of a difference.

She wore plain clothes of a faded brown color- again, not unlike those you would see in the Seam. She also wore leather boots that looked to be fairly comfortable, if a bit worn. Overall, she wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but she wasn't incredibly ugly, either. Her most dazzling feature was undoubtedly her eyes.

But she just looked so _familiar_! Gale couldn't remember where he had seen her, though, and he definitely couldn't recall seeing her around the Seam. Maybe around school? He doubted that- it was possible, but most likely he would have remembered those eyes. As it was, though, a memory continued to probe the back of his mind like an annoying bee, but he still couldn't quite catch it. He wondered if it would sting him when he did.

He realized then that she was holding something in her hands. His gaze slid down to look more closely, and he observed with a start that she was holding daggers. Several more, smaller knives were strapped to her belt. His eyes, slightly widened in shock, snapped back up to her face. She cocked an eyebrow in a skeptical expression that was, at the same time, faintly amused. It was only then that he realized how petite she was, barely reaching his chest, shorter even than Katniss.

Katniss. What was she doing at that moment? Being prepped for the tributes' parade, most likely. _She'll probably be unrecognizable by tonight... _He recalled all the makeup that the stylists would usually clump onto their tributes, most of which had probably never worn makeup before in their lives. He didn't even want to think about the stupid costumes they would usually make District 12 wear. If they weren't naked.

"Enjoying the view?" the strange girl asked airily, causing him to snap guiltily back to the present. He was mortified by the sudden warmth in his cheeks, but it dissipated almost instantly when he saw her wry smile, teasing rather than taunting. She held out her hand then, laying her dagger flat on her palm so he could get a better look. It was very sharp; she obviously took good care of the blade, although the hilt was little more than a strip of leather. Looking closer, Gale thought he saw something blue glittering at the pommel of the dagger, but she yanked it back before he could get a better look. It appeared that she had a matching set, for she held a similar dagger in her other hand. With practiced ease she slipped them both into small sheathes at her belt before looking up at him expectantly.

"Those look incredibly impractical for hunting," Gale managed, eyeing her suspiciously with a slight frown. His gaze lingered on her sheathed daggers. He reminded himself to be careful. She looked like she knew how to use those things.

"Oh, those aren't for hunting." She stroked the leather hilts before she smirked and gestured to the smaller knives at her waist. "_These _are."

She stuck out her right hand then, grinning oddly. Without thinking, he reached out and shook it. Her hand, soft and warm but still firm, was completely enveloped by his. Her emerald gaze twinkled at him, accompanied by a crooked smile..

"I'm Reyna."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: And we're back! I'm actually very pleased with myself, I managed to get this second chapter up within a month xD. I'm going to try to keep some sort of consistency with this story, so expect updates over the weekends, at least every other weekend if not every one. This chapter is still kind of short, but from here on out they should get to be more lengthy.**_

_**I'd also like to thank those of you who reviewed, favorited, and added this to your story alerts! It always makes me happy when I get an email from FF . net ^_^ Also, special thanks to SingingInTheRane, my awesome cousin and amazing beta! I wouldn't be able to do this without you!**_

_**Just to warn you, I'm thinking of changing the title of this (which won't make any sense till later chapters- you'll be able to look forward to some answers then!), so if you suddenly find a story title that you don't remember adding, that's probably what happened.**_

_**Now that I've probably bored you to death... here's the story!**_

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**Chapter 2**

Gale pulled his hand back hastily, glowering at her with suspicion, as if her hand had stung him. It was almost as if she had enchanted him with those eyes into shaking her hand, which was a gesture of... well, not exactly trust, but respect. Not to say he didn't respect her, but still.

She just watched him with raised eyebrows, as if waiting to see just what he would do.

"Where are you from?" he demanded abruptly, inexplicably bothered by her demeanor. He felt invaded, like someone had cut open his head and examined all his thoughts.

"District 12," she answered promptly. She appeared to falter then, her composure cracking visibly. Her brilliant gaze darkened, and her mouth slid into an unhappy frown. "Well, sort of."

"Sort of?" he repeated dubiously, arching an eyebrow. He couldn't help feeling a mixture of annoyance and guilt at her expression. "I've never seen you around before, and I'm more than _sort of_ from there."

"Well, I don't exactly dance around naked in the middle of the street to draw attention to myself," the girl- Reyna- retorted. Her emerald gaze glittered- whether with anger, grief, or amusement, he couldn't tell.

Gale paused. This line of questioning was obviously upsetting the girl, although she was trying valiantly to hide it by lifting her chin and throwing her shoulders back. She didn't fool him, though. He had a strange urge to take her in his arms and comfort and shield her from whatever it was that was bothering her. She just looked so... vulnerable.

He quickly suppressed this foolish notion. She might _look_ cute and innocent, but the subtle calluses on her hands and the menacing weapons at her belt told him otherwise. She was glowering at him now, obviously annoyed that he kept staring inadvertently.

"Sorry," he said, then wondered exactly what it was that he was apologizing for. She just shrugged it off, although her glower faded. He realized that he had managed to calm his temper before it got too worked up, a feat that would have been amazing on any other day. Still, he felt as if it wouldn't be hard to set him off again. He shrugged inwardly and decided that he could relax a bit; nobody had attacked him yet, and he was reasonably certain that he could take this girl if she did, weapons and all."Were you following me?" he added after a moment, real curiosity in his voice.

"Yes," she answered, the remnants of her glower replaced by a small smirk. "It took you a while to notice me." She looked proud of herself. Then she muttered something under her breath, and to Gale it sounded something like "Looks like I haven't lost _all_ of my old skills," but he disregarded this- he could make neither heads nor tails of it and it obviously wasn't meant for him to hear anyway. He also didn't have the heart to point out that any normal day he would have caught her long before that, being as he'd been very distracted that morning.

"Did somebody send you to follow me?" he demanded bluntly, tired of beating around the bush. She arched an eyebrow.

"No," she stated simply. "I am under no one's influence," she added, her gaze hardening as she turned her gaze to the sky, as if she was trying to prove a point. Gale blinked, a little confused.

"Well, that's... nice," he managed. She only snorted, shooting him what seemed to be a calculating glance.

"If you're done playing Twenty Questions with me…" she said after a moment, lifting an eyebrow. He frowned at her, but her gaze twinkled with the teasing amusement from earlier... as well as a trace of her previous distress. She pointed out, "You haven't even told me your name."

"It's Gale," he responded, a little abashed. Then he realized that, once again, he had spoken without thinking. He felt like slapping himself for speaking so openly with this stranger, who may or may not have been lying about her origins...

"Gale," the girl repeated musingly. "That girl who volunteered yesterday- Katniss-" Gale felt a thrill of anger and worry as Reyna spoke her name. "She was your friend, no?"

"Yes," Gale forced out through gritted teeth. This girl definitely had nerve, speaking so casually of Katniss, who was undoubtedly the bravest person he had ever met.

Reyna tilted her head, her green eyes alight with curiosity. She gazed at him silently, as if she could lift answers to unasked questions straight from his mind; he shifted uncomfortably after a few moments of this.

"Why are you out here?" he inquired curtly, yet again growing annoyed with her silent staring. She blinked, her gaze snapping back into focus as if he had pulled her out of a trance. Then she hesitated, calculating again, as if she was considering how much to tell him. Which she probably was.

"My, ah... _usual_ food source has dried up," she answered finally, her tone as delicate as glass. Gale then had to wonder exactly _what _the odds were that this stranger showed up the day after Katniss left for the Capitol. It was strange, and it bothered him. He couldn't shake the feeling that the two were somehow connected.

Anyway, it was quite clear that this girl wouldn't give him a straight answer to a direct question, but Gale had to open his mouth anyway, to ask the obvious question. She cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Shouldn't you be in school right now?" she asked, her tone chilly. Her eyes had hardened to emerald flints and her mouth had slipped into a disapproving frown, making it clear to Gale that she wouldn't tolerate any more personal questions.

"No," he retorted just as coolly. She arched an eyebrow. "Well, yes, but I'm hunting for my family," he relented reluctantly.

"That's _daring_," she drawled. "You look pretty smart, so I assume you know the Capitol has regulations against skipping school and stepping outside the fence?" Her expression and tone were carefully controlled, so he couldn't exactly tell whether she was joking or not.

"Are you planning to enforce those regulations?" he responded deliberately. Her composure cracked as she snorted, a completely unladylike gesture that surprised Gale. Not that anything about this girl was particularly ladylike, but very rarely would even Katniss snort like that. However, he couldn't suppress an answering grin.

"Oh, dear, no," Reyna snickered, her eyes dancing with amusement. "I don't have a gun, so I'm obviously not a Peacekeeper."

"For some reason, that doesn't make me feel much better. Give me a second to put my finger on it," he flashed back, also sniggering now. _Well, maybe this Reyna girl isn't too bad after all,_ Gale reflected as the two of them laughed together. At least she seemed easy to get along with; he'd been afraid that she would try to steal all the game in the forest. Or that was what he'd been telling himself, anyhow.

Many people considered Gale to be the surly, independent kind of person, but, as Katniss would attest, he actually wasn't too terrible around company. Preferred it, in fact. The problem was, usually only the ditzy, popular girls- who didn't have a single intelligent thought in their brains- hung around him, hoping for him to give them the time of day.

More often than not, they walked away disappointed.

Well, maybe he did scorn society in general, but to him, they were just the Capitol's pets, doing exactly what they were expected to do every day. It made him sick, seeing how easily they were manipulated.

That's why small, simple acts of rebellion, such as what he was doing at that very moment just by standing in the forest, brought him so much pleasure. But it ran deeper than that; now his best friend was trapped in the Capitol with only drunk Haymitch Abernathy, overexcited Effie Trinket, and pretty-boy Peeta Mellark to help her out against 23 other vicious teenagers in an arena that would contain who-knows-what. All of that was just to keep the Capitol citizens entertained while simultaneously punishing all the districts. To the Capitolites, it was a win-win situation. To the districts... not so much.

If earlier he had felt sick, now such anger boiled in his veins that he wanted to march straight to the Capitol and kill everybody in his way just so he could rescue Katniss.

Gale realized that their laughter had long since died away, and Reyna was now staring at him with a strange combination of pity and curiosity glittering in her gaze. She flashed him an apologetic smile when he gaze refocused on her. He frowned at her; her smile faltered and a shadow crossed her features again.

"I'm sorry about your friend, she said quietly, sincerity and compassion mingling in her soft green gaze. Then the emerald hardened as she spat with unexpected venom, "The Capitol has a very unfortunate habit of taking things that don't belong to them." Her gaze flickered and snapped with fury, like a bright green fire.

Silence greeted her words as Gale processed them, surprised at her sudden mood swing and feeling as if he'd been left behind in the dust. Meanwhile, shock crossed the girl's own expression and she belatedly clapped her hands to her mouth, a mortified flush crawling up her cheeks. She stared at him wordlessly, her eyes wide, as the seconds ticked by.

He found himself nodding in agreement and she relaxed, her shoulders slumping with evident relief as a sigh escaped her lips.

"I forget, sometimes, that I ought to be careful what I say," she confessed, the blush still lingering on her cheeks. Again, he felt that strange urge to comfort her. He repressed it once more.

"That's why I come out here," he told her, his voice quiet and rippling with some emotion that even he couldn't place exactly. His gray eyes were trained on the ground, his brow creased. "To get away from them."

She nodded, her gaze flashing with understanding. Now a slight smirk, albeit a bitter one, danced on her lips.

"And to hunt," she reminded him. She hesitated. "You have to get food for your family, right? I probably shouldn't bother you anymore. I've already caused you to skip school."

"Don't worry, I doubt the teachers will even notice," Gale lied breezily, and the girl's subsequent eye-roll told him that she didn't believe him at all. Hm, she was definitely smarter than he'd originally given her credit for.

She was turning to leave when suddenly he blurted out, "Hey, you need to hunt too, right?" She glanced back, arching an eyebrow with curiosity, and nodded mutely. Feeling slightly foolish- something that he'd rarely, if ever, felt around Katniss- he went on, "Why don't we work together, then? Two bag more prey than one." He felt another surge of guilt and thought, _Well, Katniss won't mind if this keeps her family fed... She would probably do the same if I was in the Games._ Then he hesitated. Well, maybe she wouldn't... Katniss was stubborn in that she absolutely hated depending on anybody else- except for Gale, of course.

"So I've heard," Reyna answered, turning to face him fully with another small smile. Gale was starting to get the impression that receiving a full smile from her would happen rarely. However, that secretive, slightly crooked smile, and the way her gaze dropped modestly with it, made her look rather pretty. _Dammit, Gale! She's only another girl! You can't go all gooey-eyed on her!_ He imagined the disgusted, slightly hurt look on Katniss's face if she knew what he was thinking right then...

"Together, then," Reyna agreed suddenly, her gaze flashing back to his face, accompanied by a more open smile as she stuck out her hand. Gale's worries instantly disappeared as, for the second time in half an hour, he put his hand in hers.

They shook on it.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Again, thanks to everyone who has been following this story so far, and especially thanks to SingingInTheRane, my excellent beta :D. See you all again next week!**_

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**Chapter 3**

Gale could move about as quietly as a lynx stalking its prey, or so he had been told, but Reyna made him feel louder than several drums all playing at once. She was as silent as a mute mouse. He strode through the trees, making an effort to place his feet down noiselessly, while Reyna picked her way along behind him. At times, he almost forgot she was there, except for the feeling of a ghostlike presence behind him. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Over there," she breathed at his shoulder, the first unnatural sound heard in the forest for several minutes. It took a concentrated effort for him not to jump at the unexpected whisper, but luckily she didn't seem to notice. She was pointing a soft finger over his shoulder and into the trees at their left. One of her smaller knives had appeared in that hand- the right one- while a few other knives were pressed into her left palm.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice the barest whisper, causing her black curls to stir ever so slightly. She glanced at him, amusement dancing in her eyes as she lifted a finger to her lips, cautioning him to be silent. He nodded and didn't move as she crept forward, placing her feet daintily with as much grace as a dancer. Not that Gale had exactly seen many of those.

She paused then in a slight crouch, one slender hand pressed against a tree trunk. She leaned forward, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet, gazing intently at something that was out of Gale's line of sight. Then she lifted her hand off the tree and drew it back next to her ear. A moment later there was a flash of silver followed by a dull _thunk._

She moved then, quick as lightning, and was back at his side within a few heartbeats. She was grinning, flushed with triumph; he'd barely had time to blink.

He only then noticed what she held in her hand: a large, unmistakably dead blackbird with an empty socket where one of its eyes should have been.

Reyna knelt down, wiping a knife off on the pine needles and leaving blood smears behind. It was only then that Gale comprehended what she had done.

"Where did you learn how to throw knives?" he asked with deliberate suspicion.

"It's just a talent of mine that I discovered a while back," she answered airily, her expression cautioning him not to ask any more about it. He couldn't tell who or what she was trying to protect, but there was definitely a defensive gleam in her eye.

"I see," he replied, just as delicately, his dark brown eyebrows lifting. Without speaking, she thrust the dead blackbird at him. He blinked, his brows furrowing, but he accepted the dead bird anyway. He dropped it into his game bag.

"Can you climb?" Reyna asked abruptly, gesturing to the trees. When he just stared, she added hastily, "We don't have to go very high, just-"

"Why?" he interrupted rather bluntly, then winced inwardly at his snippy tone. "Sorry-"

"See that blood over there, on the ground?" This time Reyna was the one who interjected, her emerald gaze alight with tolerance and amusement. She was indicating the blood that she'd wiped off her knife onto the pine needle-littered ground. "That could attract large, hungry predators, you know. Maybe we can catch a lynx or something." Her eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Oh, I understand," Gale replied, nodding with comprehension as he realized what she meant. "D'you suppose that would be enough to lure one here, though?"  
"Hm, good point," Reyna mused. She tilted her head, scrutinizing him thoughtfully. "You're good with snares, right? So rig something up." He wondered, at first, how she knew that, but then he recalled that she had seen one of his snares earlier.

He opened his mouth to protest, but at the sight of her wide, expectant eyes, his jaw snapped shut and he found himself nodding in compliance.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the pair had come up with an acceptable trap for some unfortunate large animal. If it didn't work, it would have been a waste of Gale's morning, but if it did work it would definitely be worth it.

Gale placed the blackbird's body in a net, and Reyna then tied the ends off with another rope, so it couldn't fall out. Then, still holding the rope, she scampered up a nearby tree and tied the other end of it to a branch overhanging the clearing in which she had killed the blackbird. Theoretically, and if luck was on their side, the scent of fresh blood would draw the attention of other animals. This was a bit of a trial run, though, as Gale had never tried something like this before, and judging by Reyna's expression she hadn't either. She did seem to be fairly optimistic that it would work, although something told Gale that, despite her cleverness and apparent ease in the forest, she didn't hunt all that often.

She interrupted his musing by calling teasingly, "You know, we won't catch anything if you're just going to stand there all day, even if you look damn handsome doing it!"

"You trying to flirt with me? 'Cause it ain't working!" he shot back humorously. She stuck her tongue out in a childish manner before disappearing behind the leaves.

Gale clambered up a sturdy-looking tree next to Reyna's, testing his weight on a stable branch about fifteen feet in the air before settling down on it, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He had never quite mastered Katniss' knack for perching easily in trees, undoubtedly because he was much bigger and heavier than she was. She was so agile that she could make it safely to the highest, weakest tree branches, and Reyna- who was even smaller than her- was probably the same. Gale, on the other hand, rarely climbed higher than halfway on any given tree. Anything above twenty or thirty feet was generally too weak to hold his weight. He avoided climbing them when he could.

Reyna adjusted the net so it dangled precisely above the clearing. Gale, clutching the bow and arrows Katniss had given him, settled down to wait.

Within moments, Gale was deeply entrenched in his buzzing thoughts, which mostly consisted of thinking about Katniss and wondering how she was doing right then. He had watched the replay of the reaping from the other districts the previous night; it looked like she would have tough competition, but he was confident in her abilities. He knew that, as long as she kept her head and didn't let her emotions get in the way, she could win. With luck, she would be back to him within a few weeks. The thought was comforting.

Considering the possibility that she wouldn't return was just too painful.

However, he really did wish that she was there with him in District 12. Neither of them was good with people in general- which was part of the reason why they got along so well- but maybe she would be able to help him figure out this strange enigma that was Reyna.

He wasn't really sure why he cared so much about this stranger- perhaps Katniss was rubbing off on him. She was more the sympathetic type. Gale's usual philosophy was that people didn't deserve attention if they couldn't take their own initiative in life.

But it appeared that Reyna _had. _For whatever reason, she also struck him as the type who avoided society in general. As Gale's gaze slid to his silent companion, she wore a strange expression on her face. She was gazing intently at the ground with a smile of almost savage glee, although he could see a murky pool of darkness swirling behind her facade. Whether it was anger, or grief, or hatred, or some combination thereof, he couldn't tell. At that moment, he could only wonder what had happened in her past that was so tragic; she just had this general aura of sadness around her, especially when she thought he wasn't looking. She also had a slightly guarded look in her gaze which never faded, like she was constantly wary of him. Well, frankly, it wouldn't surprise him if she was.

Gale paused, cocking his head. He thought he'd heard something disrupting the tranquility of their clearing. His heart rate picked up, his hands tightening on the bow.

Then a large, black wildcat stepped into the clearing, sniffing curiously with its soft black nose in the air.

It didn't look like the lynx that had followed Katniss around that one time; this one was sleeker, and its fur was much darker. Its amber eyes contained a sly glint as they flickered around, searching for its prey. Gale glanced over at Reyna, who had grown stiller than the tree she perched on, eyes narrowed in fierce anticipation.

Gale prepared an arrow and aimed the bow carefully.

He shot.

* * *

Several hours later found Gale and Reyna marching back to the fence that separated them from District 12, grinning and flushed with triumph. Reyna hauled along Gale's leather bag of prey- including the blackbird- while Gale himself carried the large wildcat, which Reyna had mysteriously identified as a panther. It was beyond him how she knew what it was, but he didn't have any evidence to the contrary, so he didn't dispute her suggestion.

As evening fell, they paused near the fence, which was thankfully still lacking electric currents, to glance around warily before ducking swiftly through a hole in it. The nearest Peacekeeper- Gale thought he recognized Darius- was studiously looking away and whistling to himself. A smirk crawled across Gale's features as he turned to Reyna and put a finger on his lips before gesturing for her to follow him. She grinned too and nodded.

Gale set a rather brisk pace back to the Hob, moving as swiftly and silently as he could without attracting attention, often ducking behind houses and bushes to avoid being seen. Reyna was being even more careful, her graceful gait hesitant, her emerald green eyes darting around nervously. She seemed to grow more tense with every step deeper into the District. Gale didn't exactly blame her- he, too, had a tendency to increase his vigilance within the fence- but he wondered what exactly it was that she had to worry about.

Finally, he drew to a halt outside the Hob.

"What's this?" she asked nervously, stopping beside him and lifting an eyebrow at the sight of the door leading into the abandoned warehouse. She bit her lip, her gaze flitting around the vicinity. Gale had to marvel at the transformation from the girl he had seen in the woods to the one who stood at his side now.

"The Hob," he answered, surprised that she didn't already know this. His gaze swiveled over to her, and he looked at her with some suspicion.

"Oh, right," she replied distractedly. He spotted a slight flicker of recognition in her eye before she ducked her head, allowing her mass of curly hair to slide forward and cover her face, as several people walked by. Gale also shifted to hide the panther from their sight.

"Something wrong?" he asked quietly after the people had passed. She still hesitated, refusing to move.

"I don't... er... I don't want to be seen," she responded with obvious discomfort, a slight flush creeping up her cheeks.

"...Why not?" he queried suspiciously.

"They'll recognize me." Her fearful voice seemed to have kicked up a pitch. She fell silent, her lips pursing thoughtfully even as her eyebrows drew together. She appeared to be choosing her words carefully, as she had done earlier. Gale, curious as to what she would say, waited for her to continue. "I don't want to be recognized," she said at last, her words disappointingly vague. "It will... there will be negative consequences if I am."

"For you, or for them?" His tone was deadly quiet. He frowned at her, resenting her apparent need to keep secrets. Her gaze hardened at his outright suspicion, but it softened again a moment later, and she appeared... regretful?

"For all of us," she answered softly, her gaze falling. Gale's eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Why?" he hissed.

"I didn't do anything bad, like you're probably thinking," she assured him quickly, her gaze flashing up to his face so he could see her honesty. She briefly paused again before backtracking. "Well, nothing you would perceive as bad anyway, but the Capitol hates me. If they hear so much as a whisper of me..." She shuddered. Before Gale could ask the obvious question, she was handing back to him his leather bag of meat, while she herself carried the blackbird and a rabbit. "Thanks for allowing me to hunt with you," she added, attempting a smile that was more of a grimace. She turned to leave, but she paused and glanced back again. She tilted her head, curiosity flickering in her gaze. "Were you planning to watch the parade tonight on the big screen in the town square?"

He hadn't, but he nodded anyway, intrigued; yet again, her sudden mood swing was unexpected.

This time, a real smile lit her features.

"I'll be there too... if you can find me." She winked, and then disappeared with the wind.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:  
**_**Sorry for the delay, guys! I'm only on chapter four and I'm already lagging behind on the updates xD. I had a karate tournament yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to get this through my beta quickly enough. *fail*. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reading this (and especially to SingingInTheRane :D). As usual, reviews are appreciated, and enjoy the chapter!**

**P.S. Next week's chapter might be a little late as well. I'm going to be really busy all week- it's almost the end of the school year, and everyone knows what that means! Exams! Yay! (not.)**

* * *

**Ch. 4**

When Gale traded in the panther, the pelt won him almost twice as much money as the lynx had all those years ago. He proceeded to sell its meat to the butcher, which also fetched him a decent price. With that coin he bought spices and other necessities- enough for Mrs. Everdeen and Prim as well as his own family- then went to the bakery, intending to trade the baker a squirrel or two for bread. To his surprise, the baker met him at the back door. The man wore a mournful expression and his bright blue eyes glittered more than usual. Gale belatedly remembered that this was Peeta Mellark's father; Peeta was in the Capitol with Katniss. _Damn._

He proffered the squirrel and opened his mouth to speak. The baker cut him off.

"Take these." He thrust two loaves of bread and several cookies wrapped in plastic at Gale, who stared at them dubiously.

"I don't accept charity" were the first ungrateful words out of Gale's mouth.

"Don't, then," retorted the baker. "Give them to the girl's family." He forced the food at Gale again, only this time he accepted it. The baker started to shut the door.

"Wait," Gale insisted, reaching out a hand to stop the door from closing. He held the squirrel out to the baker. "Take this." He hesitated before adding with some difficulty, "Thank you."

The baker smiled then and took the squirrel from Gale.

"Take one of those loaves to your own family," he said, and then shut the door, leaving Gale staring dumbfoundedly.

* * *

Gale dropped off the food at Katniss's house before he returned to his house. He was very pleased with the haul he and Reyna had managed to rake in with their combined efforts- it was more than he and Katniss usually caught in a day. He definitely wouldn't have to skip school to hunt again for several days at least, especially if Reyna continued to help him.

Mrs. Everdeen had been pleasantly surprised with the bread and the cookies. Little Prim, on the other hand, had been overjoyed for the span of about ten seconds before bursting into tears, undoubtedly thinking of Katniss. Gale had stuck around for a few awkward moments to help comfort her before he excusing himself.

Now he strode into his own small home. He was kicking off his muddy boots and setting them down carefully by the door when something small and bony hurled itself into his legs with a shrill cry. "Gale!"

Despite himself, a laugh bubbled up from Gale's throat, and he picked up his little sister Posy, twirling her around in the air before setting her down again. Her little fingers kept a tight grip on his hand- or, more accurately, his thumb, because her hand was so small it would be totally encased by his otherwise.

"We were worried when you didn't show up for school," said a soft voice. Gale glanced up to see his mother, Hazelle, standing by the small table, her features twisted into a worried frown.

"I was... held up," Gale answered uncomfortably with a slight grimace. For some reason, he was unwilling to tell them about Reyna. Her petrified expression when they'd stood outside the Hob flashed through his mind, and he decided that was a good idea. She obviously didn't want to attract attention. "Lost track of time. By the time I realized I'd be late, I decided to blow it off altogether."

Hazelle's frown deepened, but she only changed the subject.

"I hope you brought back lots of food, then," she told him, a teasing glint in her eye replacing the worry. A wry grin flickered across his features as he passed her the meat bag. She opening it, whistled in appreciation, and turned to the fireplace. Meanwhile, Posy dragged Gale over to the table; he sat down obediently, whereupon she instantly clambered up into his lap and proceeded to tell him loudly about her day. They were joined by Vick and Rory, Gale's brothers, and it felt like a normal evening. Almost.

An hour later, they had finished eating and were getting ready to go out into the town square to view the victors' parade. Hazelle had insisted that they do so to offer support to Mrs. Everdeen and Peeta's family, who would also be watching it publicly. Gale was grateful; he had been planning to go out there anyway, but now he didn't have to come up with an excuse. Hazelle knew he didn't have any friends besides Katniss that he would've gone to hang out with, so she definitely would have been suspicious when he left to find Reyna.

Posy rode on Gale's back as he strode down to the crowded District square while Rory and Vick clung tightly to Hazelle's hands. When they reached the viewing area, Hazelle allowed Rory and Vick to wander away to find their own friends. Gale stayed with his mother and Posy for the moment, scanning the crowd for Reyna, although he doubted he'd see her until she wanted to be seen.

Capitol advertisements and interviews with Gamemakers played on the screen as the sky grew darker and everybody in Panem waited for the parade to begin. Finally, just as the anthem began to play, a flash of emerald green caught Gale's eye from the shadowy recesses of the square, and Reyna, winking at him, seemed to materialize from the shadows there. Ignoring Posy's complaints, he set his little sister down, sharing a glance with Hazelle and tilting his head to indicate that he was moving away. Her brow furrowed, but she nodded her assent and gathered Posy into her arms. Gale waded through the crowd toward Reyna as Caesar Flickerman appeared on-screen. He was gleefully naming the tributes who had been reaped and explaining the purpose of the parade when Gale reached her side. She wore dark clothes; that, along with her glossy black hair and tanned skin, kept her from being seen- as long as she kept her eyes closed, at least. In the dark, her emerald gaze seemed to blaze like a beacon.

"Took you long enough," she teased quietly, with a flash of white teeth as she grinned. This time, though, Gale couldn't bring himself to smile back. His insides were twisted with concern for Katniss, and he'd barely been able to eat his dinner.

"Funny, that," he retorted instead. "I would've sworn that I looked over here at least three times in the last two minutes." She must have seen through his sarcasm, for her face softened in what could only be sympathy.

"Well, I hope the costumes are better this year, anyway," she mused as she turned back to face the screen, obviously trying to divert his thoughts. "Your _friend_ is much too pretty for the usual coal miners' outfits. Although, I think much of Panem would be very pleased if they made her ride naked on the carriage, like they did to our tributes last year." Gale gritted his teeth, wondering why he'd gone over there in the first place and hoping she didn't notice how his ears reddened. Her next words distracted him, however. "I heard that District 12 got new stylists," she continued, seemingly oblivious, but he thought he caught a sly glint in her eye. "Hopefully they aren't idiots like that last pair." He lifted an eyebrow at her in a skeptical expression.

"How-" he began, but then he was cut off by the tributes from District 1, who had just appeared onscreen in a carriage led by two extremely well-trained horses. Caesar announced their names as Marvel and Glimmer, though Gale didn't bother trying to remember their complicated, stereotypical Capitol-esque surnames. They wore rather ridiculous sparkling silver outfits complete with jewels and sequins. Those watching in District 12 were mostly silent except for a few murmurs here and there, but the crowd onscreen was screaming with approval. Reyna just snorted.

District 2 came out next. Their names were Cato and Clove... and they looked very tough.

"The Career districts always give their kids really stupid names," Reyna commented suddenly. "I mean, come on! 'Clove' and 'Glimmer'?" She snorted again before falling silent. Gale only smirked with agreement. He got the impression that she was trying to comfort him without being obvious, as if she could sense the apprehension simmering in his stomach, and he appreciated it.

He didn't pay all that much attention to the other Districts' tributes besides the Careers. The tributes of District 4, the final Career District, didn't appear all that menacing in sparkling sea-green outfits that rippled like ocean waves.

District 11's male tribute, on the other hand, looked as if he would be a match for all the Careers put together. He was large, taller than Gale, and brawny; Caesar informed them that his name was Thresh, and his companion's name was Rue. The girl couldn't have been older than twelve, she was so tiny. Reyna inhaled with obvious shock, and Gale shot her a curious glance. He'd watched the recap of all the reapings, as it was mandatory viewing along with the other parts of the Games, but she was reacting as if this was her first time seeing all the tributes.

Just one more thing he had to remember to ask her about later.

However, all she said was, "Those costumes are awful." The pair only wore overalls, like farmers, so Gale had to concur. He rather pitied them, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Then District 12's carriage came out.

There was a collective gasp before nearly everyone in the square burst into cheers of pleasure- it looked as if District 12 finally had something to be proud of! Even Gale grinned as Reyna whooped ecstatically.

Katniss and Peeta were both covered in what appeared to be black, full-body unitards. Compared to the other tributes, they wore very little makeup, and their hair wasn't quite as elaborate- Katniss's was just in a normal braid- but it was enough for Gale to appreciate the difference. Capes streamed out from their shoulders, giving both of them the appearance of flight.

The most stunning part, though, was that they were on _fire._

Flames licked along their capes, leaving a trail of fire behind them; they looked as if they were literally burning up. The apprehensive expression on Katniss's face was instantly apparent to Gale, but if Bread Boy was nervous, he refrained from showing it. He waved and smiled charmingly to the crowd, unfazed by the fire or the multitude of people.

After a few short moments and it became apparent that they weren't going to burn to death, Katniss finally loosened up as well. She waved to the crowd, tentatively at first, but she grew more confident and a wide grin lit her features up like a flame. She even began to blow kisses to the crowd. Naturally, this excited the Capitolites and they roared with appreciation. Somebody threw flowers at them; Katniss reached up and caught one, holding it triumphantly up above her head.

Gale was staggered by the way she was acting. This Katniss was nothing like the one he knew... The only part of her that he recognized was the determined gleam in her eye.

He never knew she could be such a good actress.

While he was musing, Reyna was peering closely at the screen, her brow slightly furrowed. She had quit cheering long ago.

"Whose idea was it for them to hold hands?" she wondered aloud, confusion lacing her tone. "It's never been done before, presenting two tributes as a united front like that..." Her words drifted off, and she frowned thoughtfully.

"What?" Gale answered absently, still rather dumbstruck by Katniss's radiance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reyna's scathing glance directed at him, so he obediently paid more attention to the rest of the screen. He noticed idly that the camera was spending an unfair amount of time focused on Katniss and Bread Boy, even as the carriages drew to a halt.

He saw what Reyna meant almost immediately, and he felt his blood run cold.

Katniss and Peeta's hands were locked tightly together with their fingers threaded through each other's.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **_

**So, here's chapter 5! It's still rather short, but we're getting into the juicy stuff soon. Thanks for reading, and reviews are VERY MUCH appreciated!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Gale swore and spun on his heel as President Snow appeared on-screen to greet all the tributes.

"Gale? Gale!" he heard Reyna hiss in surprise as he began to stride away. "No, don't-"

He ignored her, tuning her out. He picked up his speed, stalking toward the forest at a swift walk. He needed to get to his forest, needed to think in peace, needed to...

"Gale, you're an idiot!"

Rage surged through him. He gritted his teeth and whirled around, hurling a strike at her face, but smaller, quicker Reyna ducked away easily. She lashed out and grabbed his wrist, her bright green eyes hard as emeralds. She glared at the smoldering ashes of gray that were his own eyes. He tried to yank his wrist out of her grip, but she was now grasping him with both hands, which were surprisingly strong.

"Let me _go!_" he snarled, twisting vainly in her grip. Fury clouded his thoughts, turned his vision red, rushed loudly in his ears. He couldn't think straight; in the midst of the crowded square, he felt like a cornered animal. He _had to get out..._

"No," she snapped. "Control yourself, Gale!" He barely heard her, focused as he was on the rather frightening bloodlust inside of him.

The Capitol anthem sounded once more from the screen, and he heard it distantly as if through a dense fog. The throng of people began to disperse, brushing unknowingly against him and Reyna. She yanked him away from the crowd and into even deeper shadows. Her strong grip restrained him from stepping away, even when he tried to dig his heels into the ground.

Infuriated, he twisted again.

Reyna spun around and slapped him. Hard.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" Gale seethed, lifting his hand to touch his stringing cheek. But he could already feel his anger dissipating and the redness receding from his vision, as if her slap had been a release valve for all his fury. She didn't let go of his arm yet, but he felt her take a small step away, as if afraid to feel the full force of his wrath. She probably was, he reflected ruefully.

"You alright?" she asked cautiously after a moment, pointedly ignoring his question. They both knew the answer to it, though.

"Yes. No. Thanks, anyway," he grunted, chagrined.

Apparently confident that he wouldn't blow up again, she released his wrist. He rubbed it absently, realizing only then just how tightly she'd been holding it.

They stood in silence and darkness for several minutes. The screen had gone black and everyone had left the square while Reyna had been containing Gale. The only light now came from the houses in the richer parts of the District, as well as a few floodlights scattered irregularly around everywhere else.

"It was only an act, Gale," Reyna said suddenly. Her tone was surprisingly compassionate. "You know that. They each have to try to live through this, and there are different ways for them to go about it. Bread Boy's was just... unusual."

"Yeah. I dunno, I had to..." His voice drifted off mid-sentence and he glowered at the ground, unable to justify his loss of control. She seemed to understand, though; she patted his arm comfortingly.

He didn't see her brush a tear from her own eyes.

"If you think about it, it's a fairly clever tactic for getting sponsors," she commented after a short pause with an air of forced amusement, and if again her voice was a little hoarse, he didn't pick up on it.

"Shall I walk you home?" he offered after another moment of uncomfortable silence when he suddenly realized that it was the polite thing to do... because Gale was the complete epitome of politeness. She chuckled wryly at his question.

"No, but thanks," she replied, her emerald gaze dancing with amusement. "I'll walk _you_ home, though, to make sure you don't do something stupid again. It would be such a shame to waste my whole day hunting with some idiot who gets himself killed by Peacekeepers almost directly after we're finished with the hunt." Almost as soon as her words slipped out, Gale saw horror flicker across her features; her eyes widened and she clapped her hands to her mouth, aghast. Then she turned away, her curly mass of shadowy hair sliding forward to hide her face. Concerned, Gale reached out and touched her shoulder hesitantly. A wry part of him noted the irony. Only minutes ago, it had been _her_ comforting _him_, and now it was the other way around. _Maybe we're both just really messed up in the head._ Somehow, the thought rather endeared her to him; it was nice, knowing that she actually had a fault.

"Something wrong?" he asked, careful not to betray anything that he was thinking. She appeared to be distracted to pick up on anything, though.

"No, it was... a bad joke, that's all." With apparent effort, Reyna straightened and attempted a smile at him. It was so full of pain and bitterness that Gale winced inwardly. "I just seem to taint everything that's around me, if you get what I mean," she explained, her forced smile replaced by a grimace. To his confusion, she shot a dark look at the richest section of the District- the Victor's Village. Only Haymitch lived there now, as the only other victor from District 12 had died several years back. Of course, Haymitch was currently with Katniss and Bread Boy in the Capitol, so even his house was empty. Apparently noticing his bewilderment, Reyna just shook her head and gestured for him to lead on.

They trudged back to Gale's house in silence. For once, Katniss's dilemma almost completely left his mind- after all, she would have four days of training (including the day the Gamemakers would score her) and he wouldn't see her again on the television until the end of the fifth, during her interview- so Gale was silently pondering the mystery of the girl who strode alongside him at that moment and observing her out of the corner of his eye. Her gait was confident, with her chin held high and shoulders thrown back, but there was a darkness in her eyes as they darted shrewdly back and forth, like fireworks. He also noticed how her balance shifted, like a deer preparing to bound away at the slightest provocation, and her hand occasionally twitched toward her pocket. She looked vaguely uncomfortable, though less so than when they had stood outside the Hob earlier that day. Gale marveled at the difference in the girl's demeanor between the way she'd acted in the forest and the way she acted within District boundaries. Obviously she didn't feel safe with strangers around, and he wondered why. However, he got the impression that she wouldn't answer him if he asked.

"Is this it?" she queried when they halted outside Gale's house in the Seam after walking for several minutes. He only nodded, still deep in thought, and moved toward the door.

"Hey," she said softly, and he paused, a hand on the doorknob, to glance back at her. She smirked at him, almost no trace of her earlier distress remaining except for the lingering shadow in her eyes, which never seemed to fade. He arched an eyebrow at her, and her smirk widened.

"Go to school tomorrow," she told him bluntly with a wink. But then she grew serious, and she added, half to herself, it seemed, "No need to draw attention to yourself."

"Thanks," he replied wryly, turning to pull the door open, but once more her voice halted him.

"Oh, and Gale?" She waited a beat to make sure she had his full attention before she went on, with a slight chuckle, "Sweet dreams."

He huffed with long-suffering exasperation as he finally faced the door, but this time he stopped himself.

"See you later," he called quietly over his shoulder.

There was no reply.

He glanced back to see if she was still there, but it was as if she had disappeared. Shaking his head, torn between amusement and annoyance but leaning toward bemusement, he finally opened the door to his house and stepped inside.

* * *

Gale's mother Hazelle waited for him inside, her position and expression full of irritation and impatience. First, though, he allowed his gaze to take a quick sweep around the room as he shut the door behind him with a soft _click._ It was the same as it had been when they'd left a few hours ago, except that Vick, Rory and Posy weren't there. Presumably Hazelle had put them to bed in the only other room in the house.

"Where were you?" Hazelle demanded rather sharply. She wasn't usually the type to fuss, but Gale knew he had caused her distress when he didn't show up for school and arrived late in the day. Her concern was understandable, though; her husband- Gale's father- had been killed in a mine accident only a few years ago. Hazelle was scowling now, her arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently against the ground.

"I was... with a friend," Gale hedged. He could feel his temper rising again with the stress and the added inconvenience of his mother badgering him about his whereabouts when before she hadn't minded. He worked hard to stamp it down, putting a lid on the boiling temper, because he knew that she wasn't the true cause of his wrath. And also because Reyna wasn't there to slap him out of it if he gave in to his temper.

Even at the best of times Gale's pride and temper could be ferocious, but he had learned to simmer down and seethe quietly until he went out into the forest, where he could storm and rage in peace. At least, it usually worked.

Most of the time, whenever he did that, Katniss would sit perched in a low tree branch and observe quietly, her stormy eyes slightly wider than usual. After a little while of this, when she decided that he'd raged long enough, she would slip back to the ground and walk over to him, calming him down with only a few soft words. Gale had believed that only Katniss had the "magic touch," as his mother laughingly named it, but apparently Reyna had it as well. And in a more literal sense. His cheek was still smarting.

Sometimes Katniss would even storm and rage right along with him, hurling accusations and empty threats at the innocent blue sky, until she blustered herself out. Usually Gale pulled his temper into check right about then, too, mostly to make sure she was okay. Reyna, on the other hand, didn't seem to have much problem with her temper. She seemed to be a generally calm person, or maybe just a person with a very well-developed sense of self-control.

He snapped almost guiltily back to the present to see Hazelle watching him shrewdly through slitted eyes. He was mortified to feel the tips of his ears grow warm, a feeling which only doubled his rising anger. Only his mother could make him feel like that. He glowered at her, incensed.

"A lady friend?" Hazelle probed slyly, arching one dark brown eyebrow.

"Yes," Gale ground out through gritted teeth. His words were punctuated with a sigh as he realized that there was no point in keeping that particular bit of the pretense in place. His temper still threatened to boil over, though.

"Is that where you were this morning, too?" his mother guessed, a crease appearing between her eyebrows.

"Yes," Gale repeated guardedly. Her eyebrows lifted and she opened her mouth to say something else. His temper snapped like a rubber band.

"It's not what you're thinking," he told her rather harshly. "She was helping me hunt. _That was all._"

"What about-" Hazelle began, looking a little confused.

"I don't want to talk about Katniss," Gale snapped, sensing her next words. He glowered at her for several heartbeats before tearing his gaze away. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a little ashamed at his outburst. "I'm going to bed," he growled, striding into the other dark room and slipping into his bed with Rory.

Hazelle didn't move.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_

**Sorry about the delay! However, I hope it was worth it- in this chapter, we receive a few more answers to our questions. Reviews are very much appreciated, and thank you to LinneaPikefor reviewing two chapters in a row xP. Also, another shoutout to my awesome beta, SingingInTheRane! Thanks, cuz. :D**

* * *

**Ch. 6**

Unfortunately, Gale's sub-conscience decided that it did not want to adhere to Reyna's parting request; Gale was plagued by dreams all night, and most of them weren't sweet. Naturally, he dreamed of the Hunger Games- and then he dreamed of Katniss in them. In his dream, he was forced to watch helplessly as she was taunted by the huge Careers, who then proceeded to torture her with sharp knives. Most of the other tributes looked on. Gale recognized the little girl from 11 watching from her perch in a tree branch, her gaze cold and uncaring, the same as all the other tributes. Suddenly, Peeta appeared in the dream to dispatch the Careers single-handedly. He proceeded to turn to Katniss and sweep her up in a very passionate kiss.

Abruptly the scene changed, and now it was Gale kissing Katniss.

But then it wasn't Katniss. It was Reyna who he was kissing as if his life depended on it. Before he could pull away, though, she shoved him, and he stumbled back. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she stared at something over his shoulder.

The landscape morphed this time, and yet again Gale was nothing more than a silent onlooker. Everything around him was completely white.

As he watched, the scene began to make more sense. The whiteness was snow, and it covered everything. He recognized puffy gray clouds moving swiftly in the sky, drizzling snow on the ground as they passed. Although Gale couldn't feel it, the wind must have been blowing hard, for the little white specks swirled and danced in the air. He realized that things were looming up all around him, and a moment later he identified them as trees. Except there was something off about these trees; their trunks and bare branches were also snowy white, even the places that weren't covered with the powdery stuff. He could only recognize them because they were a slightly darker shade than the snow.

This was the first hint to Gale that this place wasn't completely natural- he'd never heard of white trees. Maybe they were plastic?

The whole place actually seemed rather familiar to him- not the instant familiarity of a place you've actually been to before, but rather one you've seen pictures of or dreamed about.

Something prompted him to turn to the right- a misplaced breath of air or some other kind of unnatural sound. Whatever the reason, Gale was surprised to see a girl shivering up in a tree branch. Her hair was strawberry blonde and very straight, cascading down just to her hunched shoulders. A peach-colored blanket was wrapped around her plainly thin body. It was a pale color, but against all the white, it stood out like a beacon.

There was a loud, familiar-sounding cannon shot off in the distance.

Her head shot up, her mouth falling into a slight 'o' of surprise.

Her eyes were emerald green.

* * *

Gale lay awake in bed, his brow furrowed. It was still dark outside, but his hunter's sense was telling him that it was nearly morning. It was that time of the night- or early morning- when everything was asleep. That time when the moon had sunk beneath the horizon, but the sun had yet to rise...

Frankly, it was Gale's favorite time of day. It was the perfect time to sit and think in peace, and he used that to his full advantage. He lay flat on his back, frowning up at the dark ceiling. The flash of bright green eyes from his dream lingered at the forefront of his mind. He tried to rationalize everything like Katniss would have done, while at the same time forcing himself to ignore the snide voice in the back of his head saying _And look where that got her!_

First things first: Katniss. Gale wasn't entirely sure what his feelings for her were, but he knew they wouldn't help her in the arena. They were close friends, though, and he had promised her that he would watch over her family. He knew she wouldn't entrust her to just anybody, and he was honored by her faith in him. Were their situations reversed, though, he was certain that she would have done the same for his family.

She was normally very self-reliant. Her father had died only a few years ago and her mother had clocked out for a while, leaving Katniss to fend for herself, her mother, and Prim, much the same as Gale himself had had to do. Because of her self-reliance, he guessed that it galled her to have to depend on the stylists and Haymitch to paint her in a good light for the sponsors. He also guessed that she hated waiting for the Games to begin, hating not knowing where she stood against the others, hated her inability to predict the future and know whether she could get out of her ordeal.

She would also hate him if she knew how badly he felt for her at that moment. She disliked sympathy.

Then again, she'd probably hate him more if she knew about Reyna.

_Reyna._

Guilt surged through Gale at the thought of the other girl and his dream. Katniss was about to go fight to the death against twenty-three other people, and here he was, cracking jokes with another girl! True, Reyna _had_ approached him first; it wasn't as if he had tried to seek her out or anything. It seemed that all she wanted to do with him was hunt. As far as he could recall, she hadn't hinted at anything else, either, unlike other girls he'd spoken with.

As a matter of fact, for all their banter, she barely seemed to trust him.

God, this girl was so confusing! And mysterious. Unlike Katniss, who always seemed to be so open and pure- to him, at least.

Another thing about Katniss was, once you got to know her, she couldn't lie to save her life. Reyna struck him as the kind of person who lied on an hourly basis- when she came into contact with people, that is. Gale got the impression that she didn't hang around society much. She seemed to be protecting something. Yet again, he recalled the expression she had worn outside the Hob.

Maybe Reyna _was_ lying to save her life….

Gale continued to rest in bed, musing, until a sliver of sunlight fell through the window, illuminating the room. Rory stirred, and Gale took that as his cue to get up. He rose to his feet and changed into a set of somewhat fresher clothes. He went into the other room to prepare an acceptable breakfast for the others as they began getting ready.

A bleary Hazelle stepped out to bid the boys goodbye right before Gale led them out the door (Posy, who was still too young for school, was still in bed). Vick and Rory both gave Hazelle a hug before stepping outside. Which, of course, left Gale and Hazelle standing around awkwardly.

"Mother, I-" Gale began, knowing he should apologize, but not sure what to say.

"Gale, just go to school," Hazelle interrupted with a wan smile. He knew then that he was forgiven.

And, because he'd been unable to fulfill one of Reyna's requests, he headed out the door to fulfill the other one.

* * *

As always, school was unbelievably boring and full of idiots who didn't have a single productive bone in their bodies. Gale hated it; they never learned anything useful, all the girls stared at or flirted with him, all the guys glared at him, and the teachers didn't know anything, either. Unsurprisingly, he spent the whole, agonizingly long day alternating between worrying about Katniss and pondering about Reyna. Both to no avail, unfortunately.

As soon as the last bell rang, he was pelting out the door and racing to the fence. Swiftly he ducked through the hole and started out for the forest. Only then did it occur to him to wonder if Reyna would show up. However, she seemed to be so unpredictable that he decided it wasn't worth concerning himself over.

Thus, it came to him as no surprise when he found her perched in a low tree branch next to the snare where he had met her the previous day. She was leaning against the tree trunk with a bulging leather bag resting in her lap, idly twirling a knife in her hands. Her green eyes twinkled at him as he approached. Her appearance hadn't changed much from yesterday, except that she wore slightly darker clothes today. The same belt was strapped around her waist, still carrying all the knives and daggers.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here," she called down teasingly. "How was school?"  
"Boring." He frowned at her and shot her a question, hoping to catch her by surprise so she'd give him a straight answer. "Why don't _you_ go to school?" She smirked, evidently unfazed by his retort.

"Frankly, I think it would bore me, too," she answered airily, dropping her bulky bag on the ground beside him. "Besides, according to the Capitol, I'm not alive." Gale stared at her, unnerved by her strange revelation. He had a feeling that this was an important clue to her history. He didn't even bother wondering whether she was lying or not, as her claim was too unusual, and seemed to fit her personality. She looked down and slid off the tree branch, landing next to him in a slight crouch, barely making any sound. She straightened and blinked up at him, seemingly unaware of his confusion.

"Well, obviously they're terribly misinformed, then," he replied with some amusement. Reyna's expression shifted again then. Her eyes darkened and her lips drew back in what could only be called a malicious snarl- the effect was kind of frightening.

"Good," she spat, yet again leaving Gale in the dust with her sudden mood swing. Her gaze glowed with the same sort of savage glee he had seen in her eyes the day before, when they were baiting the panther.

"Apparently they don't pay us 'outlying districts' enough attention," Gale agreed sourly. Here, at least, was something that the pair saw eye-to-eye on. "Or any of the districts, for that matter." Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Reyna shoot him a surprised glance. Ah, so it _was_ possible to catch her off-balance.

"Well, there is some benefit to that, I guess," she pointed out, staring at him closely. She turned her intense green gaze away and made a sweeping gesture to indicate the whole forest in her next words. Gale felt a tingle of relief when her eyes released his. "After all, if they were watching us closely, we wouldn't be here right now."

"True, that," Gale answered slowly. "But if it weren't for the Capitol's corruption..."

"We wouldn't _have_ to be here right now," she finished for him, looking resentful. She uttered a bark of unconvincing laughter. "You got me there."

"Good, for a moment I was afraid you were _defending_ the Capitol," he retorted. "Even after what they did to you." She paled visibly, her eyes widening. She shot him a sharp glance that Gale couldn't interpret, because it was so full of emotion. He backtracked, adding hastily, "Whatever it was they did to you, I mean. It must have been bad." Her expression shifted again. She eyed him calculatingly.

"You're smarter than I originally gave you credit for," she mused, evidently speaking half to herself.

"I can't decide whether that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult." Gale frowned and arched an eyebrow. She just shrugged.

"That's probably for the best," she answered mysteriously, wearing a half-smirk. She glanced up at the sky then, and Gale did the same to check the time.

"We're wasting time," he observed, his frown deepening.

"Right, sorry." A faint flush appeared on Reyna's cheeks, and she looked genuinely chagrined. "Any plans for hunting today?"

Gale paused, considering the question. Katniss would never have needed to ask anything like that; they had always seemed to have a mutual, unspoken agreement when it came to hunting. They had quickly established something of a routine within weeks of their meeting each other so it was like second nature when they came out into the woods. It seemed almost strange to have to think about it now.

"Not really," he answered after a moment. "We got a good haul yesterday, so I think we should just collect whatever is trapped in the snares and kill anything else we see wandering around. And collect berries," he added after a shorter pause.

"Sounds like a good idea," Reyna agreed, her resentment having apparently faded.

_She's even more erratic than Katniss,_ Gale mused thoughtfully. _And probably just as fierce._ That thought sobered him, and he wore a small, worried frown as he led Reyna through the trees.

* * *

The next few days passed much the same as the previous one. Gale would go to school and then meet Reyna in the forest in the afternoon to collect plants or hunt. Reyna continued to dance around his questions- which were growing increasingly more direct and probing- until he had all but given up. He hoped that she would eventually end up telling him herself. He did, however, learn that she shared his views on the Capitol, and she seemed to know a lot about District 12. This led to the conclusion that she was, in fact, born in the District. Not that that helped Gale at all in his attempt to figure her out.

They spent the third day- which was a Saturday, so Gale didn't have school- fishing. This was the day that Katniss and the other tributes were to be assessed by the Gamemakers. Gale was very worked up with anxiety- an emotion that had, until recently, been almost completely alien to him. Naturally, this only made his temper worse, so Reyna, after several feeble stabs at joking, eventually just fell silent at his stony demeanor. Unless she was just concentrating really hard on fishing.

"They don't matter all that much, you know," she said suddenly after a few hours of silent fishing. He shot her a quizzical glance, and she blinked, probably reacting to his dark expression. "The training scores, I mean," she elaborated. "Sure, they attract sponsors, but once you get into the arena it doesn't make that much of a difference... if you know how to handle yourself, that is."

"How could _you_ know that?" Gale spat, annoyed. He turned away from her, scowling. "You sound like you've actually been in an arena or something." Out of the corner of his eye he saw another odd expression cross her features, but he didn't care enough to glance back and read it more closely.

_Or perhaps, _whispered a voice in the back of his head, _you care _too _much, and you're afraid of what you'll see there._

His scowl only deepened.

"Her score will be fine, Gale," she assured him quietly, heedless of his inner monologue.

He only kept himself from snapping a retort because he didn't want to scare the fish away.

* * *

This time, when Gale wandered out to the town square, he left Hazelle and his siblings behind. He and his mother had decided that it would be best to keep the younger kids away from the multitude of people. As far as kidnapping went, there wasn't much crime in District 12, but that didn't mean Vick or Posy couldn't get lost in the crowd.

The sun was just beginning to set when Gale stepped into the main viewing area. His jaw clenched in anticipation while his gaze scanned the square, searching for her. Surprisingly, his eyes landed on her almost immediately, in the shadow of a building almost directly across from where they had stood to watch the tributes' parade. He started walking toward her. Her hair had slid forward to cover her face, and her shoulders were slightly hunched. To anyone else, she could have been any poor person from the Seam, but Gale could see the glint of her emerald gaze scanning the square, and he would recognize those eyes anywhere.

Wait... _anywhere?_

He paused mid-step, brow furrowing.

He recalled the sensation of recognition he had felt around her earlier. Before, he has assumed that he'd just seen her around school or something, but he would've remembered a name like Reyna.

A memory tugged at him, and he saw again the image from his dream- a dream that had been recurring ever since he had met her. In his mind's eye, he saw a girl who couldn't have been more than 14 or 15, huddled in a snow-white tree, shivering uncontrollably. But her emerald green gaze burned with fiery determination.

Those eyes that Gale would recognize anywhere.

He forced himself to keep walking through his stunning revelations. Everything was clicking into place- he _had _seen Reyna before, except she'd been under a different name, and she had looked different. But where...?

Another memory hit Gale over the head like a bat, and suddenly he _knew_ where he had seen her face before.

_Holy crap..._

"Are you all right?"

Gale started; he hadn't realized that he'd already reached Reyna's side. She was peering closely at him, her emerald gaze wide with concern.

"Just nervous, I guess," he answered with a nonchalant shrug. He was outwardly composed, but his mind reeling with shock.

"Hm," was all Reyna said, looking unconvinced. She still frowned at him, but he ignored her.

His mind was still buzzing when the screen flickered to life, and he almost missed the training scores from the first few districts, but he heard enough to know they made high scores. Typical Careers.

After that, he pretty much zoned out until they showed District 11's scores. The little girl had somehow won herself a seven, which was surprisingly good for someone her age. Then Bread Boy's face showed onscreen, followed by a large 8. Reyna made an approving sound in the back of her throat.

Next came Katniss's face, and then...

Gale chewed anxiously on his lip. He felt a hard pressure on his hand and realized that Reyna was clutching it tightly. She was gazing at the screen just as intently as he was. After his revelation, it wasn't hard to guess why.

A number flashed onscreen.

11.

_Eleven._

Everyone in District 12 cheered, clapping their hands, jumping up and down, or stomping their feet, creating a cacophony of noise. Gale was grinning with relief, and at his side Reyna had released his hand and was also clapping and laughing with wild enthusiasm. She, too, wore a wide smile, and her prominent eyes shimmered and danced.

"Looks like the Girl on Fire has some potential, Gale!" she shouted to him over the racket. "An _eleven, _Gale! District 12 hasn't scored higher than a nine since the 70th Games!"

"Since you, you mean?" Gale replied, his voice deadly soft, his gaze sharp. She sobered instantly, her hands falling to her side and her eyes dimming. Her gaze darted around, as if to make sure no one was listening.

And then she nodded.

"Since me," she agreed quietly. "I am the victor of the 70th Hunger Games."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:**_

**So, here's the next chapter! Sorry for making you wait an extra day, but life has a habit of intervening ;p. Anyway, thanks to LinneaPike, bbymojo, Forever9SNSD, and Alyxus Taylor for your reviews! Another extra special thanks to my beta, SingingInTheRane! :D.**

**Just a warning- on June 10th, I'm going to camp for three weeks, so this story (and my others) will be on a short hiatus. However, while I'm gone, I'll try to keep writing, and I should update this story at least once more before I leave. **

**So, after Reyna's stunning revelation last chapter, we dip into her head for a little bit, to see what she thinks about all of this ;). Extra points to anybody who catches my _Buffy _reference. :p Anyway, I'll see you next chapter, and remember, reviews are highly appreciated!**

* * *

**Ch. 7**

_So he's figured out my secret. Why am I not surprised?_

Reyna turned her face to the ground, a little afraid of what Gale's expression might read. This was the first companion she'd had for four years, other than Haymitch (who was often drunk, so he wasn't much of a companion anyway). She really hoped that she hadn't blown it by hiding her true identity from him. Well, more to the point, she hoped she hadn't inadvertently sentenced him to a gruesome death.

"Reyna," he said softly. She peeked up at him from underneath her eyelashes, just in time to see his eyes harden as he added, "Or should I say, Ashlyn."

"Don't call me that," she hissed, her head snapping up and her gaze darting around fearfully. An idle part of her mind noted that people were beginning to leave the square. "Nobody can know who I am!"

"Why not?" Gale demanded, a frown tugging at his lips.

"I'm supposed to be dead, genius," she reminded him in a low tone. "After I..." She paused, dropping her voice even lower. "After I won, my family and I supposedly died in that fire, remember?"

Gale nodded, his frown more pronounced now. "But you're still alive," he pointed out. "Why-"

"That fire wasn't an accident," she answered quietly in a dark tone, predicting his question. She saw realization flash through his stormy eyes.

"The Capitol?" he guessed, eyes narrowing. She nodded. In her mind's eye, Reyna watched the fire consume what had been her new house from her vantage point of Haymitch's living room. She felt the pain in her heart, but there was nothing she could do to help. She could only watch, growing more devastated with every passing second, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

_Why didn't they wake up?_ she wondered now, as she had wondered back then. _Why didn't they escape?_

And it was all her fault.

"Why would they do that?" Gale asked, jerking her back to the present. His dark gray eyes were flashing with anger and, worse, wariness.

"I did something they didn't like," she told him, her shoulders sagging. He opened his mouth to ask again, but she waved him off. "I'd rather not talk about it now." Beginning to grow alarmed at the hard look in his eye, she added quickly, "It had nothing to do with my District, I promise. I just made a big mistake and pissed off President Snow." She grimaced inwardly at the memory, but she was rewarded by the softening of his eyes. She saw the barest flicker of sympathy there before he composed himself again. Relief flooded through her when his features resumed their usual stoniness; she didn't want his sympathy.

"The Capitol is just sick and sadistic," he growled instead, looking furious now.

_You don't even know the half of it,_ she thought wryly, but she nodded in agreement, feeling a scowl darken her own features. Anger clouded her vision and her mind, and grief caused her eyes to blur.

"Hey, it's okay," he said suddenly, his voice surprisingly soft, but she could hear his discomfort. She felt something warm on her shoulder. After a few moments of blinking, her vision cleared and she realized that it was his hand on her shoulder. He was watching her closely with a concerned frown. Annoyance flickered through her suddenly. She straightened haughtily, shrugging his hand off her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Reyna insisted, scowling. She paused then, realizing that it wasn't Gale she was angry with. She shook her head and added grudgingly, "Thanks." He smirked at her, and she had to wonder if she'd imagined his previous concern. He turned away from her then, gazing around the dark square. Yet again, everybody else was gone, but it wasn't nearly as late as it had been the night of the parade (after all, it didn't take quite as long to give the scores).

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked after a slight pause, his gray eyes glowing with an unreadable emotion as he turned back to face her.

"Actually, I haven't," she admitted, frowning. She only then became aware of the hollow feeling in her stomach, which was probably contributing to her distress. Hunger often made her act oddly since, ironically, her Games. "I think I forgot earlier." She realized, perhaps a beat too late, that Gale probably wouldn't respond well to that careless statement. Knowing him, he'd be a little pissed that she had taken home some of their catch and then not eaten it. She wasn't disappointed.

His brow furrowed, and she saw a storm beginning to brew in their depths. _His eyes are really expressive, _she reflected, _but he probably doesn't even realize it._ Instead of voicing her thoughts aloud, though, she just sighed audibly. "Don't be mad, Gale, I was just too nervous for your girlfriend and Bread Boy." Finding it humorous, she had taken to using Gale's nickname for Peeta. "I doubt it's that hard for you to imagine why I have an invested interest in their well-beings." _After all, I would have been their mentor, if I had "lived", _she added silently, but she knew she didn't have to say that aloud. The clouds in his gaze had drifted away to reveal a clear gray sky of understanding before it was suffused with thoughtfulness.

"As it happens, I haven't eaten dinner yet, either, so if you want you can come back to my house and eat with us," he suggested. As he spoke, she saw a strange shadow pass across his face; a crease appeared between his brows, and he looked a little bemused. But was there something else there, too?

"Sure," she agreed, giving him a sly, deceptive smirk while she pondered his expression. "I've been positively _dying _to meet the family." He grinned, the strange expression gone as quickly as it had come. In unspoken consent, they began to walk toward his house.

Another emotion flickered through her as she strode along. It didn't take her long to put a name on it and then match it to what she had seen on Gale's features. Guilt. And you didn't exactly have to be a nuclear expert from the deceased District 13 to guess why they both felt guilty.

It was because of her. The "Girl on Fire". Katniss.

Reyna had been teasing when she had called Katniss Gale's girlfriend- she was fairly certain that they had no "official" relationship, but she knew they were close.

Well, whatever. It wasn't as if _she _had been the one who invited _him _over. Where would she take him, anyway? Haymitch's house? She grinned inwardly at the thought before realizing that Gale was speaking again.

"I think my mother has been looking forward to meeting you too," he was saying dryly. These idle words caused Reyna's thought process to falter completely for a moment. She stared at him, blinking once in surprise. She snapped out of her shock quickly and grabbed his wrist to yank him to a stop, her gaze glittering with urgency.

"Does she know who I am?" she hissed, ignoring his obvious annoyance. He snatched his hand out of her grasp, scowling.

"No, of course not," he snapped back. "I only just figured out, remember?" She relaxed and nodded, her mind still whirling. They continued walking, albeit at a slower pace, both simmering like hot stew left over the fire.

Reyna heard a chafing sound and glanced over at Gale. She realized that he was rubbing at his wrist, his expression rather unfocused; he appeared to be deep in thought.

"Sorry," she added after another moment of musing silence.

"It's alright, I know that you have to lay low," he answered, his expression snapping back to alertness as his gaze shifted over to meet hers. "I didn't tell her much about you, but I couldn't exactly lie to her when she asked."

"Actually, I meant your arm, but I'm glad you're not angry with me," she said, her gaze twinkling. She snickered and dodged when he made as if to smack her arm playfully.

"So, I was wondering," she went on once they had settled down, "how did you guess that I was the victor of the 70th Games? After all, everyone but you and Haymitch is certain that I'm dead."

He gave her a sideways glance before answering. He looked rather chagrined. "Your eyes. I remembered seeing them before."

"My... eyes." She blinked. "So _that's _why Haymitch told me to wear different colored contacts in public." Apparently her eyes were very noticeable, according to Haymitch and now Gale.

"They stand out, especially in the Seam," Gale informed her sagely, eyes twinkling.

"Where everybody has gray eyes," Reyna mused. "You know, my mother was from the Seam."

"No, I didn't know that." He lifted an eyebrow at her. "I've never seen you around here."

"Well, my father was a butcher, so she moved in with him soon after I was born," she explained. "This is your house, isn't it?" she added, changing the subject because inquiries about her past made her feel a little uncomfortable. In fact, most inquiries about herself made her feel a little uncomfortable.

They were a few yards away from the house that she vaguely recognized as the one she had walked Gale to several days ago. She could practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he moved forward and opened the door. With a wry smile, he gestured for her to go in. Swallowing hard and fighting the urge to turn on her heel and race away, Reyna stepped over the threshold. Gale followed and shut the door behind her. He was so close that, for a moment, she could feel his breath stirring her curly hair, and a strange feeling thrilled through her at the intimacy. She hastily moved away to take note of their surroundings.

They stood in a small room with wooden walls and floors. In the center of the room was a small table with four chairs, obviously meant to be a dining table. An old television set rested in the corner, positioned so one could view the screen from the table, and next to it was another doorway that led to a dark room. On the wall directly across from Reyna was a window. The room they currently stood in was lit by a gently crackling fireplace, over which hung a pot. Reyna couldn't tell what was in it, but it smelled good.

Next to the fire, a woman with gray-streaked auburn hair sat on a stool. She appeared to be washing something in a bucket- Reyna guessed they were clothes. The woman turned when Gale shut the door behind him, and then her eyes landed on Reyna. They widened slightly with surprise. She had the same stormy gray eyes as Gale, the victor observed absently. _This must be his mother. _Despite the woman's gray hair, she didn't appear to be all that old, but her shoulders were bowed with stress and her grieving eyes spoke of a hard life. Those were, indeed, damp clothes that she held in her hand, and Reyna only then recalled Gale mentioning that his mother would do the neighbors' washing for extra money.

Her respect for him increased as she realized only then just how much Gale had to do to support his family.

"Mother, this is Reyna." Gale's terse voice interrupted her musings.

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Hawthorne." Reyna quickly stamped down her not entirely irrational fear of strangers and she put on her best, most genuine stage smile. According to Haymitch, she was one of the most natural actresses he had ever seen, with a very real-looking fake smile whenever she was on stage or on television. He had told her that she was good at smiling for the camera- or that was the implication- and she used that to her advantage now, to hide the fear that coursed through her veins- she absolutely hated socializing with people, for obvious reasons. She felt like a deer, frozen in the forest, waiting to see if the hunter would notice her.

Luckily, the hunter didn't. At least, not right away.

"You can just call me Hazelle," the woman told her with a warm smile. She wiped her hand off on her worn apron before extending it to Reyna, who shook it rather warily.

Her smile relaxed a little bit, only to completely disappear from her features at the woman's next words.

"It's been a long time since Gale brought over a friend other than Katniss," Hazelle added, and Reyna could've sworn she saw a calculating glint in those gray eyes. Perhaps the hunter wasn't as clueless as she had thought.

The victor coughed awkwardly, and she could feel Gale tense up at her side.

"Reyna hasn't eaten yet, so I figured that maybe she would like to eat the stew you made out of the rabbits _she _caught," Gale stated, emphasizing the fact that the rabbit had been her kill.

"If you don't mind," Reyna added hastily, half-hoping that Hazelle _did_ mind so she wouldn't have to hang around. "I understand that you don't have much food..."

"Oh, it's nothing," Hazelle replied with another kind smile. "Sit down, dear." She gestured to the table.

Reyna settled into one of the chairs and shifted it so her back was toward the wall with the fireplace. The dark room was in front of her and the door leading outside was on her right, the window to her left, so she had a clear view of all possible exits or entrances. She didn't miss the expression Hazelle shot Gale, nor the odd look that Gale shot her, but she pretended to take no notice. She watched Hazelle out of the corner of her eye as the woman ladled stew into two bowls. Hazelle set the bowls down in front of the two teenagers and turned away again, presumably to grab some spoons, while Gale watched idly, appearing to be deep in thought. In one swift, silent motion, Reyna plucked a vial filled with clear liquid out of her pocket and allowed one drop to fall on her bowl of stew. She quickly pocketed the vial again as Hazelle turned back to them.

It was Haymitch's suggestion- or rather, demand- that she carry the little vial with her no matter where she went. She recalled his words when he had thrust it into her hands: "Take this. If the Capitol ever finds out that you're alive, the first thing they will do is try to poison you. Put a single drop of this on any food that you haven't cooked yourself, and it will tell you if the food is poisoned. Understand?"

_Haymitch may be drunk all the time,_ Reyna reflected with some amusement, _but at least he still cares._

She fastened an appreciate expression on her face as she gazed intently into the stew. "This looks amazing, Hazelle." _Well, at least it's not turning blue or anything,_ she thought, deciding that it was safe to eat. And then she thought to herself, _Goodness, Ash, you're starting to act paranoid, too._

"Thank you, dear," Hazelle replied, still beaming. She handed a spoon to both Reyna and Gale. Gale dug right in, but Reyna hesitated a moment before trying it.

"Don't burn your tongue," Gale cautioned in a low tone, his voice rippling with laughter. She swallowed hastily, glad for the fire's glow that hid the flush on her cheeks caused by the scalding stew. She blinked away tears as her eyes seared from the way the soup seemed to blister her throat. She set her spoon down to give it a chance to cool off and realized Gale had done the same.

"So what do you think?" Hazelle questioned.

"It's hot," Reyna answered with an uneasy chuckle, "but it's better than any stew I make myself." One would think that, after nearly four years of having nothing better to do, she would excel at cooking. And she wasn't bad at it, but she never cooked stew; it brought back bad memories for both herself and Haymitch.

"Doesn't your mother cook?" Hazelle inquired delicately, and Reyna winced inwardly. She would have guessed that the woman was just making conversation, but yet again she saw a sly glimmer in those penetrating eyes. This time Reyna was almost positive she hadn't imagined it.

"Mother-" Gale began warningly.

"My mother's dead," Reyna deadpanned, her tone and expression flat.

Hazelle looked genuinely surprised. She began to stutter an apology, but Reyna waved it off.

"It was a couple years ago. I don't remember her all that well," she lied.

Those words were probably some of the most dishonest words she'd ever uttered in her life- right up there with nearly everything she ever said in her short visits to the Capitol. She thought every day of her mother and the rest of her family, and pain, fresh as the day they had gone up in flames, shot through her every time she remembered them.

Sadly, she didn't actually mind lying to Hazelle. Frankly, she wouldn't mind lying to President Snow himself to keep her identity safe. She remembered how, after she had been reaped, Haymitch had commented drunkenly, "Well, you look like you certainly have a knack for survival! I might even have myself a winner this time." _Too bad he didn't realize that my sense of self-preservation- or perhaps lack thereof- would put us both in trouble,_ she thought wryly.

"Still, it was really untactful for me to-" Hazelle stressed.

"It's fine, you just didn't know." Reyna muffled a sigh and shot Gale a pleading glance, as if to say, _HELP ME!_

"Mother, just let Reyna eat," he said with a grimly amused twist to his lips. Reyna resisted rolling her eyes with difficulty.

"It's late," Hazelle said after another awkward moment. She rose to her feet, her gaze downcast. "I'm going to go on to bed. It was nice to meet you, Reyna," she added, her gaze flicking up to the victor's face momentarily. She went on to bid Gale goodnight before striding into the dark room and shutting the door behind her.

Reyna sat quietly and sipped the stew for several minutes, absorbed in her thoughts, before she rose to her feet. She slipped off her supple leather boots and darted over to the door that Hazelle had shut. She placed her ear against the door and closed her eyes, listening hard. After a slow count of thirty, she moved away and did the same thing to the other door, making no sound at all. Then silently, she stepped over to the window and peered outside. Gale watched with obvious bemusement.

"We're alone," she declared in a low tone, resuming her seat. She realized then that he was eyeing her oddly.

"Paranoid, much?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. She flushed defensively.

"It's a victor thing," she replied, her gaze darting over to the window again.

"And the thing you put in the stew, I suppose that was a victor thing, too?" he asked archly, but to her relief his gaze glittered with amusement rather than anger.

"No, that was more of a 'wanted fugitive' thing," she retorted with a quiet snicker. "Well, it would be, if I was, you know, alive."

"You're surprisingly eloquent, for a dead person," he sniggered.

"And rather spry," she agreed, grinning. "And _dead _sexy."

"And great at making puns." They were both laughing quietly, now, and making a concentrated effort to keep from waking up the others.

In the midst of her giggles, Reyna couldn't help but notice that Gale hadn't disputed her claim of being sexy. She didn't know whether to be amused, pleased, or frightened, so she just ceased her laughter altogether before it became too strained.

"I think Haymitch has been rubbing off on me," she explained, still smirking.

"Haymitch?" Gale lifted an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "He doesn't strike me as the paranoid type."

"Are you kidding me? The man pulled his own phone cords out of the wall," Reyna answered, amused. "He says that the Capitol is _everywhere,_ even where you're sure it isn't." She paused. "He'll be so mad at me when he gets back and realizes that I've revealed myself to somebody." The glance she shot Gale was half-sheepish and half-sly. He returned an amused glance.

"Hopefully after Katniss wins, he'll be too pleased to care very much," he pointed out, but she heard the words he didn't say: _When Katniss returns, things will go back to normal and I will be hanging out with her instead of you anyway. _That thought sent a surprising pang through her. Now that she'd had a taste of... well, not exactly a normal life, but a more productive one, she didn't want to go back to hiding out in Haymitch's basement, or wherever the most convenient hiding place was.

Once a year, Haymitch would leave her alone in District 12 as he went to oversee the tributes. Every year, before he left, he would seek her out and remind her to stay away from other people. Usually he would also check to make sure that she had enough food, but the Peacekeepers had been especially impatient this year, and both of their minds had still been buzzing from the surprising twist of the reaping.

Those weeks while Haymitch was away were some of the loneliest of her life.

Not that Haymitch was exactly the best company, as he was drunk most of the time.

Anyway, she usually adhered to his orders, but this year had been different. From the deepest shadows she had watched the reaping; she'd had barely ten seconds to feel sorry for the young girl whose name was called before the girl's sister had volunteered. Reyna had been as shocked as anybody by the girl's bravery, but the thing that had stuck in her memory most was the young girl's shrieks of protest before she had been picked up and carried away by a grim-faced young man who could easily have been the brother of the girl who now stood on the stage. Reyna knew, though, that he wasn't her brother, because of the way he looked at her. Katniss Everdeen, not Reyna. And definitely not Ashlyn, the name... the _identity_ that Reyna could never forget.

At the time, she had felt bad for the handsome boy because he was losing his best friend to the Capitol. No matter how strong the girl appeared, she would never be the same again, whether or not she returned. And Reyna had wanted to help him. So she followed him past the fence. Their meeting hadn't been accidental on her part.

She realized that Gale was staring at her.

"Sorry about that," she said, feeling a slight flush crawl up her cheeks. "Guess I need to brush up on my people skills, huh?"  
"Considering three and a half years of no company but Haymitch, I don't blame you," Gale reassured her teasingly.

"Gee, thanks, don't I feel so much better now," Reyna retorted sardonically. They fell into another thoughtful, companionable silence. She recalled something he had said earlier, prompting her to observe aloud, "You have a lot of confidence that Katniss will win."

"She wants to win, and she can do it," he answered simply.

She mulled this over as she finished the stew. She tossed another glance at the window as she rose to her feet. Gale did the same.

"Thanks for dinner," she told him, and he just waved it off.

"You deserved it, it was your kill," he replied gruffly, and she hid a smile. It wasn't surprising that he was unused to dealing with this kind of gratitude. His discomfort was kind of adorable, actually.

She hesitated. Where had that thought come from? Irritated, she shook her head as if hoping to remove it from her mind. She moved over to the door and reached for the doorknob.

"Wait."

She paused and glanced back, lifting an eyebrow at Gale. He was watching her with a curious look of bemusement on his features, which he hastily composed when he saw her glance. He was standing near the fire, leaning against the wall and frowning ever so slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said finally. There was a question in his voice.

"See you," she answered with a confident, cocky smile. She opened the door and glanced around hastily before disappearing into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys. This is DKAllayna's beta, SingingInTheRane, here. DKAllayna is currently unavailable at the moment and asked me to upload this for her. Sorry for the little delay! Thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed! She really appreciates it :) Okay, enjoy the new chapter!**

**Ch. 8**

Gale awoke in the morning with a hard knot of apprehension in his stomach, feeling barely rested. The first thing he noticed was the bright sunlight streaming through the window; the second, that Rory was gone. He leaped out of bed, swearing at himself for sleeping in. _Stupid, stupid!_ Reyna was probably going to ditch him for making him wait for her.

He dressed quickly and strode outside, skipping breakfast in favor of getting to Reyna as quickly as he could.

* * *

A few minutes later, Gale stepped through the fence and strode over to the nearest trap, the one where he and Reyna usually met up.

She wasn't there.

Swearing, he slumped against a nearby tree before lowering himself to the ground. He didn't really want to, but he would wait for her. He leaned his head back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he emptied his mind of all thought and allowing the sounds of the forest to wash through his mind.

A breeze rustled the leaves on the trees.

A small prey animal- a mouse, or maybe a vole- scuffled around in the pinestraw nearby.

A bird sang above his head.

Gale focused on the birdsong in an attempt to identify it. A robin, perhaps?

The bird fell silent.

Less than five minutes later, a bluejay started whistling its own tune, again directly above him. He recognized this one because of its high-pitched, musical whistles.

Strange that there were two different kinds of birds in one tree...

Gale frowned, opening his eyes and straightening. As he did so, the bluejay fell silent and was almost instantly replaced by the distinctive call of a blackbird. Normally he would have guessed it was a mockingjay in the tree, but he couldn't hear those bird calls anywhere else at that moment, so there was nothing for a mockingjay to imitate.

Then he realized that it was a _blackbird _singing, and he remembered the last time he'd heard one of those. He couldn't contain a shout of laughter. The birdsong was abruptly replaced by an answering peal of clear laughter.

"I totally tricked you!" he heard her giggle. He peered up into the tree, but he couldn't see her amidst the thick bundle of leaves and branches. An idea struck him, causing him to smirk wickedly. He reached up to a knot in the tree trunk and started to pull himself up. Some of the leaves above him shivered, and her voice called out, "Gale?" She sounded a little concerned at his lack of response.

Reyna's face appeared between the leaves.

"Boo," he told her.

She shrieked and her face disappeared. A moment later, he heard a light thump on the ground, followed by a louder one when he let go. He hit the ground with knees slightly bent to absorb the impact. At his side, Reyna was doubled over with laughter.

"Geez, Gale, you scared me," she gasped, placing her hand on his shoulder and using it as a brace to pull herself up. Her emerald eyes sparkled brighter than usual with genuine amusement and the lingering remnants of shock.

"You deserved it for hiding from me," he retorted, still grinning. She snickered.

"You should've seen the look on your face when I was whistling."  
"You do realize that three different bird species don't all bunch together on one tree, right?"

"_I'm_ not an idiot, I just wanted to see how long it'd take you to figure it out!"

It was nice, Gale reflected, to laugh like this with Reyna. He probably never would have pulled a stunt like that on Katniss. She would have gotten mad at him for making her look like a fool, and then she _might_ have smiled about it later.

Then he realized that, just the previous day, he wouldn't have done that to Reyna either. Before, their relationship had been cool, based on respect rather than trust. Now, that he'd figured out her secret and refrained from turning her in, she seemed to have decided to trust him completely. When before her eyes had been cool and aloof, even when she joked, now her gaze was warm and soft, like leaves on a warm summer day. The only thing that hadn't changed were the shadows that still flickered behind her amiability when she thought he wasn't looking. The shadows in her eyes never seemed to completely disappear. Gale doubted they ever would.

And he was starting to feel her growing on him, too. She was genuinely pleasant company- when she wanted to be, at least. But what Gale liked most about her was that she didn't pretend to be something she wasn't, now that she had quit concealing herself from him.

There was one thing, though, that she still refused to speak about. She would not tell him what she had done to anger the Capitol. This time, though, he got the feeling that she wasn't keeping this particular secret to protect herself physically, but rather mentally. Obviously there was some kind of terrible memory associated with it. When he asked her later that day, her outer physical mask slipped completely, and she just stared at him with agony in her expression, a plea in her eyes.

He dropped the subject immediately.

Other than that, they spent most of the day wandering around the forest, laughing and joking. Despite this new side to their relationship, there was still an underling feeling of tension. Occasionally one of them would glance up at the sky, or clench their fists for no apparent reason. Gale, however, knew why, and he would guess that Reyna did, too. _Even way out here in District 12, the Hunger Games affect us, too. And they haven't even begun yet._

After one such pause in her speech, Reyna sighed. "We should head back now. Don't want to miss the interviews." Gale snorted, and she grimaced in agreement. On their way to the fence, they collected berries and other edible plants, as well as a few medicinal herbs for Mrs. Everdeen, to make up for the hunting they mostly hadn't done.

Reyna, with a mysterious twinkle in her eye, left him at the fence after cautioning him not to do anything stupid.

As usual, Gale traded off some of the food at the Hob. He also stopped at the bakery where, like before, the baker accepted a squirrel and thrust two loaves of bread at him. This time, though, Gale didn't argue, and only thanked the man. He stopped at Katniss's home to drop off the supplies and food before returning to his own house.

"How was hunting?" his mother inquired casually as he stumped inside. He set his game bag on the floor and settled into a chair. Posy immediately clambered up into his lap as he began to answer.

"It went well. There's been a lot of prey running around lately," he replied, idly bouncing a cheerfully squealing Posy on his knee. He watched Hazelle cross the room to examine his findings.

"You didn't bring home as much meat today," she observed. Gale sighed inwardly. His mother probably thought she was being clever by assuming that he'd spent the whole day with Reyna. Well, he had, but not absorbed in the activities his mother was undoubtedly imagining.

"I traded a lot of it since we brought so much back yesterday, and some of it had to go to Mrs. Everdeen, too," he explained patiently. Posy was now playing delightedly with his hair, and it took a concentrated effort to keep from wincing when she tugged especially hard at one of the black locks.

Hazelle sighed, obviously growing annoyed with his general answers. Gale watched with some amusement while she appeared to be arguing internally; she was frowning, her jaw working thoughtfully.

"Was your girlfriend with you?" she finally asked. There was a shocked gasp originating from somewhere around his head, and Posy sat back down hard on his lap, craning her head back to peer him in the face.

"_You_ have a _girlfriend?_" she asked, her gray eyes bugging out with amazement and dubiousness. Gale couldn't help but chuckle at her flabbergasted expression.

"She isn't my girlfriend," he assured his little sister, still snickering.

"Good, because you're not old enough to have one," Posy declared sagely, jumping off and waddling away with adolescent dignity. Gale glanced back at his mother, who was watching with one gray eyebrow arched.

"Reyna helps me hunt, and that's all," he told her sincerely once his sister was out of earshot.

"If you say so, dear." Hazelle gave him an odd, quizzical glance and turned to finish making dinner. Gale, waiting impatiently to eat, found himself puzzling over her words.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Gale all but sprinted outside, his veins fizzing with tension. What would Katniss say to Caesar Flickerman? Would she freeze up on stage? What approach would Haymitch try to take with her, if anything? Alluring or witty, maybe, but Gale doubted she could pull either of those off. Maybe sarcastic and standoffish- she was deeply mistrustful of strangers, so that would work- although that probably wouldn't get her any sponsors.

To his relief, he spotted Reyna in the square right away. She was in a different spot yet again, but for whatever reason, his eyes were drawn straight to her petite figure. She winked at him when his gaze fell on her, to which he responded with an eyeroll as he made his way over to her through the crowd. She was smirking when he reached her side.

"It didn't take you five minutes to find me this time," she observed, grinning.

"There's a lot of people here, you know. It's hard to pick one person out in this crowd," he pointed out, scowling teasingly at her. She only shrugged and changed the subject.

"I have a feelings that these interviews will be interesting," she mused. There was a slight frown on her features, and her eyebrows were pulled together in a curious expression.

"Aren't they usually?" Gale commented, and she just shrugged again.

The giant screen flickered on then, and there was no more time to talk.

After the anthem played, the victors were shown onscreen parading onto a stage. Caesar Flickerman was introduced; after cracking a few lame jokes, he called up the girl from District 1, Glimmer. Obviously aiming for sexy and seductive, she wore a shimmering, see-through gold dress, and she pulled it off well.

Reyna clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

After Glimmer, Gale zoned out for the most part, only paying attention to the real highlights. Reyna, on the other hand, watched it all avidly, making a few comments every now and then: "That one looks dangerous" about the boy from District 2, and "She's one to watch out for" about the girl from 5. Several of them were obviously little or no threat to Katniss, like the crippled boy from 10.

When the little girl from District 11 stepped forward for her interview, Reyna startled Gale by grabbing his arm and squeezing it tightly, watching the screen with a tortured expression. He flinched with surprise, but her grip didn't lessen.

"Oh, Gale, she's so young," she whispered in an agonized tone. Then, surprising him even further, she buried her face in his arm.

Confusion roiled through Gale's mind as he gazed down at her, brows furrowed. He hadn't yet seen Reyna break down like this, and it was undeniably disconcerting. Usually she seemed so composed, but as the pre-Games charade progressed, she seemed to grow more vulnerable and wary, as if _she_ was the one who was preparing to go into the arena. He wondered if all victors acted like this after they won; their experiences must have been so terrible that the memories just couldn't be shaken. _Well, _Gale thought wryly, _all the morphlings and drunk victors are starting to make sense._ At least Reyna was fighting the trauma rather than succumbing to it.

She refused to look up even when Rue returned to her seat and the other District 11 tribute stepped forward. Finally, when the boy's turn was almost up, Gale coaxed her back to the present.

"Reyna, it's almost Katniss's turn," he told her quietly, touching her shoulder with his free hand, as if he could anchor her back to reality. He realized that she was shuddering, and he removed his hand quickly when she looked up. She blinked, appearing to be confused, before her expression pinched with chagrin.

"Sorry," she mumbled, releasing his arm, which tingled with pins and needles as the pressure released. Her usually bright eyes were dark with undisguised grief, and he noticed they were rimmed with red

"Are you all right?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"No," she answered with a faint stab at irony and a humorless smirk. Her weak smirk faded as she sighed. "But I will be."

Caesar Flickerman called Katniss up then, and Gale transferred his attention from the green-eyed girl at his side to the gray-eyed one onscreen.

Katniss looked beautiful in a long, sparkly red gown. Upon closer inspection, Gale observed that her dress was covered in fiery jewels- red, orange, blue, yellow, white... The dress seemed to ripple down past her ankles, and her chest, shoulders, face, and arms were dusted with gold. Light makeup enhanced her features, but didn't obscure them too much. The effect was absolutely stunning.

Gale shifted angrily when several wolf-whistles echoed across the square.

"She's trembling," Reyna observed quietly, evidently unconcerned about Gale's annoyance. He blinked at her soft words and frowned questioningly, peering closely at the screen. Reyna was right; Katniss's dress shook softly, and her eyes were slightly wider than usual with masked fear.

And then Caesar started speaking to her. He greeted her before proceeding to ask about what impressed her most since arriving in the Capitol. She stared at him blankly for a moment, putting Gale in mind of an expression he had heard once: _a deer caught in the headlights._ Her gaze snapped back into focus and she visibly struggled for words before blurting, "The lamb stew."

"Personally, I preferred the roast beef," Gale heard Reyna comment under her breath, but she looked pleased with Katniss's response, although it was a simple one. He couldn't help releasing a relieved chuckle.

After a few more lines of banter with the audience, Caesar turned back to Katniss.

"When you came out in the opening ceremonies," the announcer began dramatically, "my heart actually _stopped._ What did you think of your costume?" His words, like usual, were slightly over-exaggerated to the point of being comical, but the idiot Capitolites soaked it up like sponges. Katniss's gaze seemed to flicker over to something off-screen before she answered, her words light and teasing, but with a wary edge to them.

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" she responded humorously. She was relaxing quicker than Gale had thought she would. Reyna seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"She's better at this than you gave her credit for. And Haymitch," she added thoughtfully. Gale's brow furrowed.

"How do you know that Haymitch didn't think she would do well?" he asked curiously.

"I know Haymitch's style, and I saw the expression on her face." Reyna shrugged, as if it was obvious. "Victors who already know what they will say or how they will act are generally more confident."

Gale was shaking his head in amazement as he turned back to the screen, where Katniss was speaking again.

"...Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't _believe_ I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, either." She spoke quickly, looking almost giddy with nervousness.

"Don't lose your head," Reyna muttered quietly, watching the screen intently, although she looked vaguely amused. Gale grimaced in agreement.

And then Katniss started to twirl.

Her dress seemed to explode into flames as the multi-colored jewels caught the light, enveloping her in fire. Gale's breath caught in his throat and he stared, amazed. She spun a few more times at Caesar's encouragement before whirling to a stop and gripping his arm, giggling oddly.

Katniss was _giggling._

"She's really nervous," Gale agreed, shaking his head again. Reyna snickered in response.

"I wish my stylist had been that clever," she mused regretfully, eyeing the dress with a longing expression.

Onscreen, Caesar helped Katniss to her seat after complimenting her, and he went on to inquire about her training score. She was able to worm her way out of answering that one, because whatever happens during private sessions is confidential. An almost mockingly disappointed Caesar moved on to ask about her sister, at which point Katniss grew very solemn.

"Her name's Prim," she told him sorrowfully. Yet again, her gaze seemed to be resting on something that was hidden from the cameras. She continued, "She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."

Even Reyna grew silent then, and all of District 12 seemed to be holding its breath.

"What did she say to you, after the reaping?" Caesar asked, his voice soft with sympathy. Gale watched with slightly narrowed eyes, half-expecting Katniss to refuse to answer such a personal question. She seemed to hesitate before giving in.

"She asked me to try really hard to win," she replied quietly, her dark gray eyes glowing with intensity.

"And what did you say?" the announcer persisted. Another short pause.

"I swore I would." Her voice was low, but her eyes gleamed with determination as fiery as the costume she had worn during the tribute parade.

Finally the buzzer went off, and everyone was clapping and cheering for Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire. Gale relaxed, feeling about as relieved as Katniss looked. Reyna, however, seemed to grow even more tense as Bread Boy moved forward for his own interview.

Peeta seemed right at ease onstage, cracking jokes with Caesar and appearing to genuinely amiable. Gale was sure he would win all kinds of sponsors. It was a big change from Katniss's nervousness and closed-off expressions, and the audience definitely appreciated it, judging by the cheering and clapping that emanated from the huge television set. The pair bantered for nearly two minutes before Caesar finally asked a real, almost-serious question.

"So. Peeta. Tell us: you must have a girlfriend waiting for you back home. What's she like?" Caesar asked, grinning in a conspiratorial way. Peeta seemed to hesitate for a moment before shaking his head violently, acting like the worst liar in all of Panem when he was probably the opposite.

"This will be good," Reyna predicted quietly, her expression somewhat shadowed.

"Handsome lad like you, there must be _some_ special girl. Come on, what's her name?" Caesar probed. He obviously wasn't giving up on this one.

Peeta sighed and answered reluctantly, "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember, but I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."

At Gale's side, Reyna uttered a sharp gasp. He turned and frowned at her quizzically, but she didn't pay him any attention.

"Oh, Haymitch, you're such a _genius!_ Unless it was the boy's idea? Maybe he's being honest? And she doesn't even know! _Clever!_" She was evidently speaking to herself, for her words made no sense at all to Gale. Her gaze flickered sideways then as he realized that she was watching her. She just shook her head, wearing a small, tight smile, and gestured for him to turn his attention back to the screen. He shook his head in bemusement, but he complied.

"She has another fellow?" Caesar guessed, looking nonplussed.

"I don't know-" Reyna snorted, causing Gale's confusion to skyrocket- "but a lot of boys like her," Bread Boy responded with a despondent air.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" the announcer suggested brightly, appearing proud of his clever idea.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning... won't help in my case," Peeta sighed, his shoulders slumping helplessly. Gale felt a dark foreboding like ice sliding down his back, and there was suddenly a hard pressure on his hand. Too busy staring at the screen, her barely noticed.

"Why ever not?" Caesar wanted to know. The man looked utterly stumped. _Capitolites really _are _idiots, _Gale thought absently as horror dawned on him.

Bread Boy's features were mottled with a bright blush when he answered. "Because..." He took a deep, bracing breath before continuing. "Because she came here with me."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello, everyone! This is DKAllayna's beta, SingingInTheRane, back again! Sorry that the next chapter took so long to get out. Summer has been a really busy time for us, as I'm sure it is for all you too. But thank you for being patient, and a special shout-out to everyone who has left reviews! I know DKAllayna really appreciates each and every one of them. So, without further ado, I present you with Chapter 9!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

It took a moment for Bread Boy's words to sink in for everybody in Panem except Reyna. There was a collective gasp in District 12 as everybody realized what he meant. _He's talking about Katniss,_ Gale's mind screamed. The people in the square murmured the same thing to each other in hushed tones. Some people even glanced toward Gale, knowing his relationship with her.

Gale felt utterly paralyzed. _Katniss. Bread Boy loves Katniss? Is that even allowed? _Emotions roiled up inside him, causing his cheeks to flush and his heart to pound. Dimly, he realized that Reyna was watching him with an urgent expression.

He couldn't snap out of his trance until the screen displayed Katniss herself. She wore a shocked expression; her mouth was open in a small, startled 'o'. Then her cheeks flamed fiercely, and she lowered her gaze to the ground, her lips pressing together.

Gale started to change positions, but the pressure on his hand increased, yanking him to a standstill.

"Just wait, Gale. One more minute." Reyna's authoritative voice cut across the haze in his mind, and he complied, because he had no idea what he would have done had she let him leave. Onscreen, Peeta was speaking again. Gale didn't bother trying to listen. Instead he just glowered venomously at the screen, as if Peeta could feel his glare all the way in the Capitol. When the announcer began to speak again, however, Gale started to listen once more, hoping it might distract him from his sizzling anger.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady," Caesar commented sadly. At Gale's side, Reyna snorted and muttered something under her breath, but he couldn't catch her words. "She didn't know?" Caesar continued.

"Not until now."

Katniss looked up shyly, blushing. This only served to increase Gale's fury. He would have yelled at the screen, but he couldn't do anything more than stare, stupefied. There was a roaring in his ears that drowned out everything else Caesar said, and a red fog seemed to cloud his vision. It was as if a blanket had fallen across his mind, muffling all rational thought and feeling other than intense anger and pain. He became aware of something yanking on his hand and arm, but, still glaring at the now-blank screen, he didn't respond. The tugging sensation ceased after a moment. And then, without warning, his neck cracked as his head snapped sideways, and his cheek suddenly burned like it was on fire. The pain caused everything to snap back into focus; he found himself glowering down at Reyna, who glowered right back.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" he growled furiously. Before she could answer, something jostled him from the side, and he realized that there was a stream of people leaving the square. He and Reyna caused only a slight ripple in the stream- she was standing rather close to him.

"You weren't paying me any attention," she hissed, her green gaze smoldering. She glanced around furtively then, and Gale realized that a pair of Peacekeepers were making their way over to him and Reyna. "Come on," she added, pulling him out of the square with startling strength. Gale noticed only then that she had been clutching his hand the whole time.

He absently listened to Reyna mumble quietly as she weaved expertly through the crowd, refusing to let go of his hand even when he tried to tug it out of her grip. Barely contained fury seemed to throb through his veins in time to the prickling in his cheek.

"Where are we going?" he snapped finally, unable to bear the tense silence anymore. And, perhaps, looking for a source where he could vent his anger. She was leading him in a direction almost completely opposite of his house.

She glanced back at him and put a finger to her lips before yanking him into a dark alley in between two houses. She slowed, but she shook her head violently, her bright gaze gleaming with urgency. She kept moving, dragging the not-entirely-unwilling Gale along behind her. She zigzagged through the streets of District 12 until they found their way blocked by the fence. Without hesitation, she released his hand and slipped through a gap, disappearing into the shadows of the trees. Gale was a heartbeat behind her.

Usually, when he entered the woods, there was a sense of utter relief, and all tension seemed to disappear from his shoulders, especially with Katniss at his side. This time, though, when he passed under the canopy of leaves, his tension and his fury increased. Now the woods only reminded him of Katniss, and his feelings for her were so mixed that he didn't bother trying to decipher them.

Reyna had slipped out of sight, but occasionally he could hear a rustle of leaves here and there. So it was in this way that he followed her, until he stepped out of the trees' cover. He realized that they were now in a large clearing on the banks of a small pond. Reyna was finally back in sight; she stood next to the pond, a dark silhouette against the bright moonlight. When she turned to face him, the moon rested at her back and the pale rays framed her figure, casting her face into shadow. He couldn't see her expression, only her blazing eyes. Stormy gray met emerald green as their gazes locked. Gale could see understanding and sympathy in those piercing eyes. He only wondered what she saw in _his_ eyes.

"He had no right," Gale blurted out, feeling anger surge through him again. "He has no right to lay claim on her like that!"

"Gale-" Reyna began, but he cut her off.

"It's not right for him to mess with her feelings like that," he growled ruthlessly. "He doesn't deserve her, the spineless, know-it-all jackass..."

"_Gale_," Reyna persisted, her eyes widening, but once more he interrupted her.

"He talked about her like she was a... a..." Still glowering, Gale paused, unsure of which words to use. After a moment of silence, he felt his anger deflate like a popped balloon, and he turned an uncharacteristically helpless gaze on Reyna. His voice was quiet and hoarse when he spoke again. "Do you think he meant it?" He gazed at her like she was his lifeline- he needed to know the answer, but he didn't want to hear it. She gazed back silently, looking conflicted, her green eyes burning, before she lowered her head. Finally she spoke. Her voice was also rough and dragging with some emotion.

"I think he did," she answered slowly, trying to figure out the best way to convey her thoughts. She kept her head down but lifted her eyes, as if gauging his reaction. "But Katniss was only playing along. I think she'll assume that it's just an act." Perhaps sensing his outrage, she added with an air of weariness, "It's just a trick to get sponsors, Gale. The Capitolites will eat up this whole... 'star-crossed lovers' thing like cake." She drew out the borrowed phrase with some disdain, but no small measure of admiration.

"You don't know Katniss like I do," Gale protested. "What if she buys into the whole thing? If Bread Boy goes out and dies in the arena, she'll feel completely responsible."

"You don't really think that will happen," Reyna deadpanned. She sighed then, her shoulders slumping. "It's nothing more than a show. Just formalities to remind us of our place." Distress dragged at her body like soggy clothes, and it occurred to Gale that maybe she hadn't completely gotten over her earlier episode when she saw Rue. Suddenly, he felt foolish for making a big deal out of the interviews. _Reyna's right. Katniss is smarter than that- she'll see through the ploy. She won't let Bread Boy get to her._

"Sorry," he said after another moment, genuine apology in his tone. "I guess I'm just concerned about what the Gamemakers will do to her in the arena."  
"If you say so." Reyna shot him a superior smirk, masking her exhaustion and desolation but not completely hiding it. Gale rolled his eyes, choosing to respond to her remark rather than her expression.

"You have a problem with me worrying about my friend?" he inquired archly.

"No," she replied, grinning. "I just think you're _jealous _of Bread Boy, 'cause he gets Katniss _all_ to himself."

"I am not," Gale retorted hotly, but despite the teasing glint in her eye, there was a ring of truth to her words.

"If you say so." At his glower, Reyna lifted her hands up by her head, as if to physically fend off his glare. Gale just rolled his eyes again and turned away to scope out the clearing they stood in.

"Why the woods?" he asked her, knowing she would understand what he meant. "You could have just dragged me back home."  
"In the state you were in?" He heard a snicker echo from behind him. "I think not. You'd probably scare your siblings half to death. It was the first place I could think of, anyway. Besides-" And now he turned to look at her, although he could only make out her reflective green eyes. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, so I figured I'd try to do something useful to pass the time, like hunting." Her tone was surprisingly bitter. Gale watched her closely, although he still couldn't read her expression in the dark.

"Would you like me to stay with you?" Gale offered after a moment, and then admitted, "I doubt I'll be able to sleep, either."

"If you want." Her response was careful and neutral. But she hesitated before adding softly, "I wouldn't mind the company." Her emerald gaze was trained on the ground now.

"I'll stay, then," he decided, adding hopefully, "Mother shouldn't mind too much."

* * *

Several hours later they lay side-by-side near the dark pond. The half-moon winked down at Gale from the center of the sky, surrouded by its flock of glittering stars. He was laying on his back with his arms crossed beneath his head while Reyna sprawled in a similar position next to him, except her knees were bent so her feet were flat on the ground. They had given up hunting once they'd realized it was futile with no light for them to see by- nocturnal creatures kept themselves well hidden, and all the other creatures were asleep.

The pair had been silent for several minutes now, both enjoying the stillness of the sleeping forest. Finally Reyna broke the silence.

"I don't suppose you usually spend the night out here with a girl," she commented, sounding half-amused and half-chagrined.

"Not often," he answered with a muted chuckle. "Once or twice, maybe, when the electricity in the fence was turned on." He hesitated but curiosity forced him to drive on into the next question. "Where do you spend the night, since your house was burned down?" He heard her shoulders brush against the grass as she shrugged. Or maybe that was a flinch. His words could have merited either.

"Wherever it's most convenient," she replied slowly, as if to keep herself from saying too much. "Sometimes Haymitch's basement." She spoke nonchalantly, as if she didn't care at all.

Anger suddenly surged through Gale at her dismissive tone. Rarely were there any homeless people in District 12- they all starved at home- but when there was one, the community often banded together and helped them out. However, since Reyna had to keep herself hidden from everybody but Haymitch, the crotchety old victor and now Gale were the only ones who could help her. Yet, Haymitch had to be careful, too, because the Capitol was undoubtedly watching him, and it wasn't as if Gale had a ton of money to spend on her. The fury coursing through Gale's veins forced him to shoot up into a sitting position.

"You... don't... have... anywhere... to sleep," he echoed slowly. Reyna sat up as well. The moon, now bathing her face in its gentle light, revealed concern in her pinched expression.

"Not regularly, no," she admitted, gazing at him with a sort of quiet intensity, despite the fact that she seemed to quail slightly under his rage. "I try to avoid trespassing on Haymitch's hospitality as much as possible. I shouldn't be his responsibility. The Capitol is probably watching him anyway." Her words weren't anything that Gale hadn't already extrapolated, but he still frowned at her easy acceptance.

"He couldn't buy you a house or something? Or a bed, at least?"

"Gale, listen to yourself. It would look suspicious if he did something that, and we have to remain as inconspicuous as possible," she pointed out. She shrugged then, lowering herself back to the ground and picking at the grass with her graceful fingers. "Besides, I don't mind. I... deserve this."

A realization struck Gale over the head like a hard baseball bat. He finally understood why she acted like she did, as well as her self-deprecation and occasional morose expressions. His anger abated slightly as sympathy and understanding took its place- two emotions that were almost alien to him.

"Reyna," he said gently. He thought he saw her cheeks flush in the dim moonlight as she turned her head away. Some instinct compelled him to place his fingers under her chin and tilt her head back to look at him. Her emerald eyes reluctantly met his dark gray ones, and he thought he saw surprise flicker through the emerald before her expression hardened.

"What?" she asked finally, glowering.

"That fire that killed your family wasn't your fault, you know. It was the Capitol's doing," he reminded her quietly, firmly. "You don't have to blame yourself."

"You don't understand," she mumbled, brushing his hand away. She turned her head away again. Her next words were slightly muffled. "You don't understand what it was like. Sitting in Haymitch's living room, watching the house across the street... _my_ house. One minute there was nothing; the next, a blazing inferno. It was so sudden, and it moved so quickly, it was unnatural. My whole family was in there." She sniffed. She sat back up and lifted her head, just enough to that he could see her eyes. They sparkled more than usual. "All but me, Gale. I... I think the Capitol must have put gas in my house. We didn't even hear them screaming... they never woke up." Her voice cracked and she fell silent, lowering her gaze once more. Her shoulders were hunched, and she looked so small, so helpless...

Without speaking, Gale reached out and pulled her against his body. She relaxed into his grip with a barely audible sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

**Well... hi there. Long time, no see, as it were. XD**

**I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this, but I spent a good deal of the fall and the winter in the grips of writer's block, and I've only recently gotten back into writing things. I had a really busy year, and I've been really busy since the New Year, so I really haven't updated any of my fanfics for a long time. Sorry again.**

**At any rate, this chapter is mostly unedited and perhaps a bit rusty, but I think it's pretty decent. Hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

She sat up with a gasp, her eyelids snapping open; her abrupt awakening caused the blood to rush to her head. She had no idea where she was, or why she was there. Her hand shot out to touch the ground; her vision, still blurry from sleep, couldn't be trusted. She sighed with relief when she felt rough pine needles prick her hands. Not snow.

But she couldn't trust the lack of snow, either. Maybe the Gamemakers made that disappear overnight. Could they do that?

Sure they could. The Gamemakers could do anything. They were like _gods_, for crying out loud!

Well, it didn't matter. She had to move. If one of the other tributes found her in this disoriented state... She blinked and reached out, feeling the ground nearby.

_Knife! Where's my knife, dammit! _She shoved her hand into one of her pockets, and she sighed gratefully when her fingers closed around the hilt of her treasured weapon. If she'd lost it, she would have had to stick around and look for it, which would have made her more vulnerable. Oh well, she had it now. Time to move.

She sprang to her feet and almost instantly staggered into a tree. Her hand shot out to brace herself against it. The knife blade slipped in her grasp, causing a sharp, sudden pain in her palm, but she barely noticed. She blinked, and her surroundings finally snapped into focus as she shifted her grip on the knife.

She was leaning against a pine tree, a fact that gave her instant relief; there were no pine trees in the arena- that she knew of, anyway. She was standing on a thick bed of pine needles. Behind her were more trees, and in front of her was a pond and... a boy.

In one fluid movement she brandished her blade in an icepick grip, dropping into a defensive half-crouch, her lips drawn back into a feral expression. The boy didn't move. He only watched her warily.

"Reyna?" he asked cautiously. Then his weight shifted, as if he was planning to approach her.

"Don't move," she hissed, alarm causing her heart to pound furiously. To her surprise, he complied, holding up his hands to prove they were empty. Her brows furrowed slightly, and her mind began to whirl in circles. This wasn't making any sense. This boy could probably overpower her easily. Yet he was gazing at her with an odd sort of familiar concern in his dark eyes, as if he knew her. _Do I know him? I don't think so. And who the hell is Reyna? Is he insane or something?_

_That's you, dumbass,_ some dark, sardonic corner of her mind piped up just then. She shook her head in confusion, straightening. The knife fell out of her hand and she lifted trembling fingers to her temples. _God, I must be going insane... I don't understand. My name is Ashlyn... isn't it?_

She lifted her gaze, intending to question the handsome, dark-haired boy, but in the midst of her confusion he had sidled closer to her. She flinched away, bending down to scoop the knife up again before facing him warily. _I'm not going down without a fight._

As she rose to her full height, however, she lifted her gaze to stare down her opponent, and she found herself paralyzed under his intense gaze. They were gray, like... the color of clouds before a storm. It suddenly occurred to her that she knew those eyes. And finally everything clicked back into place, as if someone had removed a translucent lens blocking her eyes. It was disconcerting; it almost felt like the fabric of her entire world had been ripped out from underneath her and replaced with a strange, uncaring one.

"Gale?" she asked, rather tentatively. He had stopped; now he regarded her with a hooded, calculating expression, as if he was waiting for her to sink back into her delusions. "What did I..." she began, rather perplexed. She stepped back uncertainly, her eyebrows drawing together. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as the full impact of her morning dramatics hit her. _Oh, no. He knows I can't control it. He must think I've gone mad..._

"Reyna," he said quietly, lifting a hand as if he sensed what she was going to do. Instinct whacked her upside the head, however, and at the sight of his reaching hand she scrambled away. She lost her balance on the slippery pinestraw and fell ungracefully to the ground. Horrified, she glanced back up at Gale.

"Crap. I..." she began, wanting to explain but unable to do so without sounding like a complete moron. She fell silent, regarding him for a moment before she shook her head, unwilling to see the judgment that was undoubtedly there in his gaze, and leaped to her feet. "Sorry," she mumbled over her shoulder before she turned and fled.

Gale searched the forest for an hour. He didn't dare allot himself any more time for this; he wasn't going to miss the beginning of the Games, as much as he hated leaving Reyna alone. She definitely hadn't become a victor for nothing; as good a tracker as Gale was, for the life of him he could not figure out where she had gone.

He still wasn't sure exactly what had come over her, why she had run away. They had fallen asleep by the pond the previous night, he knew, and it had felt like only minutes later when he had woken up and realized that she wasn't at his side anymore. She'd been acting oddly when he spotted her- she didn't seem to recognize him. It was almost as if she thought she was back in the Games, but even in her moment of clarity she had shied away from his touch. It only then occurred to him how badly she had been affected by the Games. He had caught glimpses of her distress before, but now... It was just tragic. He felt a new level of hatred wash through his veins, hatred for the Capitol and their sick idea of entertainment. It was wrong, plain and simple.

He wondered if Katniss would be affected so badly.

Almost instantly, he felt guilt followed by another surge of anger. Guilt because Reyna was the one who was here, now, suffering, and he still worried over Katniss; guilt because he _should_ be worried for Katniss, who was about to enter the arena; and anger because neither of them had the right to dictate his feelings, especially Reyna, since he had only met her recently. It wasn't fair that the victor already had this level of manipulation over him. He couldn't help but worry for her, though. It was odd, to say the least. He didn't think he'd ever fretted this much over a single person. Excepting Katniss, of course.

With a bemused sigh at this jumble of thoughts, he turned and reluctantly started walking back toward the District. He slipped through the hole in the fence and headed home.

* * *

Reyna paused in the shadows, eyeing the entrance to Gale's house. Unbeknownst to him, she had circled back around and followed him when he had returned to town, but she hadn't been able to work up the guts to speak to him. She wanted to apologize for her debacle this morning, but she couldn't figure out how. _"Hey, Gale, sorry for spazzing out on you this morning! If it makes you feel better, that happens every time I wake up!" Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well. _Her sarcastic thoughts reflected her rather bitter mood. Even though no one was looking at her, she felt her cheeks burn with shame. _I should have warned him. Well, too late now, dammit. _She sighed, shifting in place. She knew she either had to enter the house or walk away soon, because the longer she stayed, the higher the chance of being spotted.

As if he had been listening to her thoughts, however, the door suddenly swung open, and there he was, standing on the threshold of his small house, staring right at her. He beckoned her toward the house and lifted an eyebrow when she didn't move.

"You going to stand out there in the heat all day?"

Honestly, she didn't mind the heat. Her Games had been freezing cold and snowing nonstop; the flashbacks were worst in the winter. Warmth tended to help keep them away.

"Um..." She wasn't sure why, but his simple question had rendered her incoherent. She'd been intending to explain, apologize, and move on, but for whatever reason, she couldn't do it. She could only move dumbly toward him and into the house when he stepped out of her way. The dim lighting within the house elicited a small grimace, but she forced it away as she moved over to the table and took a seat. She rested her elbows on the table, cupping her chin in her hands. Gale tactfully ignored her bone-weary sigh, instead placing a chipped mug full of steaming liquid in front of her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he seated himself across from her, looking at the wall rather than at her. It was a mark of her trust for him that she didn't hesitate before lifting the mug to her lips. The smallest smile tugged at her lips when she tasted the contents within.

"Hot tea is one of my mother's specialties," Gale remarked, breaking the silence. She couldn't read the expression in his dark, reflective eyes. "She says it's the best remedy for everything."

"Maybe not _everything_, but she's got her mind on the right track," Reyna agreed quietly. Her voice was rather hoarse. She didn't look at Gale, choosing instead to gaze into the brown liquid within her cup. "Look, Gale, about this morning-"

"It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself." His tone was gentle, insistent, but she was stubborn.

"But-"

"Seriously. Don't worry about it."

"_Gale-_" She lifted her gaze then, her expression pleading, and his eyes rose to meet her own.

"Reyna."

She couldn't help it; she flinched. That had been her name for four years- Ashlyn was too conspicuous to continue using- but she was still unused to it. It felt like she had assumed a different person's identity, like she wasn't even herself anymore, and she hadn't been since the Seventieth Games. She didn't think she _could_ ever be herself again. She dropped her head into her hands, hiding her face, as despair threatened to overwhelm her.

"That's... not my name," she whispered slowly, still unable to explain.

"Would you rather I call you Ashlyn?" he asked calmly. She inhaled sharply, her throat tightening.

"That's... not my name, either." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax and lift her gaze to look Gale in the eye. A light of desperation still shone in her gaze. "I owe you an explanation." Had she been in a better mood, she would have laughed at the faint redness in his cheeks.

"R- A- You don't need to bother. I told you not to worry about it," he reminded her, but with less force this time. She scowled and shook her head stubbornly, feeling as if the warmth from the tea was returning her spirits.

"Shut up." He obediently fell silent, and she paused a moment, allowing her gaze to drop to the ground once more. She recollected her thoughts before continuing.

"I... um... Well, as you may have noticed, I'm not exactly back to normal after my participation in the Games. If I ever was normal." She interjected a faint snort here in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. "Anyway... I'm not the same as I was back then. There are dreams... memories... nightmares. Hallucinations." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "What I mean to say is, it's just lucky that I'm not an alcoholic like Haymitch. Even after nearly twenty years, he sees things, too. We victors... we're a pathetic lot."

"I see." His words were quiet, but she couldn't bring herself to lift her gaze again. "I didn't realize..."

"Most people don't."

They sat in silence for several heartbeats. When she heard his voice again, she finally allowed herself to look at him again.

"Will Katniss be like this?" The heartbreak in his expression was well hidden, or so he thought, but the keen Reyna picked up on it swiftly.

"Assuming she survives?" she retorted caustically, but the swift burst of negativity disappeared like a deflated balloon, and she heaved a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know. I mean... she probably will. Everybody reacts a little differently, but from my understanding, this 'post-traumatic stress' is pretty universal, even to some of the Careers. That's why some of us are alcoholics, or, you know, insane."

"And no one ever knows," Gale mused quietly.

"The Capitol hushes it up pretty well; the worst reactions never make it to the screen. Most people don't realize why the victors act so different after their Games, and some of them don't even recognize the difference." She grimaced and fell silent, unwilling to pursue the subject. Gale, too, stopped speaking, although she wasn't sure whether it was because he was thinking about Katniss or whether he was just being considerate of her unspoken plea to end that particular conversation. They were both silent for several minutes, she soundlessly finishing off her cup of tea and he watching her. She felt a faint blush crawl up her cheeks as his unwavering stare, until finally she couldn't bear it anymore.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, her green gaze flickering upward to regard him. His expression was intense and unreadable.

"We could stop it, you know," he told her, defiance glittering in his stormy eyes. She blinked, straightening hastily and causing her chair to jerk backward, her brows lifting.

"Stop- _what_? Post-traumatic stress disorder? The Games? The... the Capitol?" She stared at him, her shock unbridled.

"Yes," he answered simply, and his expression darkened into a fierce scowl.

"H-how?" It was unusual to catch Reyna by surprise, but Gale had done it with only a few words.

"It's easy. We gather up all the districts and rebel against the Capitol," he stated as if it were obvious.

"Gale, I'd marry you if you took down President Snow, but it's really not that easy," she pointed out with a frown. However, her emerald gaze began to gleam with possibilities; if they overthrew the Capitol and President Snow, everyone would be free. The Districts. The victors and the tributes. Herself. She wouldn't have to hide anymore; she could be whoever she wanted, she could do whatever she wanted. Oh, what a blessing that would be! To be able to walk freely through the streets and show her face! To be able to speak with anybody and everybody, to have friends and fall in love and have a family again!

But there was no escaping the past.

Again she remembered the troubled day when her name was pulled out of the Reaping bowl, and the blinding, lethal whiteness of the snowy arena, and the dark, fiery night when her parents were killed. She lifted a trembling hand and ran it through her pitch black hair, biting her lip to compose herself.

"We could do it, though," he insisted, leaning forward, his grey eyes glinting determinedly. "If we tried. A rebellion with all the Districts- they wouldn't be able to stop us! We could get rid of this awful government, do away with the Games, and everybody would be equal! Nobody else would get hurt because of them."

"Gale, we can't just rebel!" she retorted, also leaning toward him and scowling. "Not now! If you walked out into the street right now and declared war on the Capitol, who knows what would happen to the tributes in the Games? You'd be putting Katniss- and Peeta- in danger, not to mention your family."

"Once she gets back, then," Gale persisted, undeterred. "Will you help me?" He didn't elaborate, as they both knew exactly what he meant.

She hardly hesitated at all before she folded her arms on the table and leaned even closer to him, catching his gray eyes with her emerald ones to be sure she had his attention before speaking.

"Gale, when Katniss returns, I will do all that's in my power to help you plan a revolution and overthrow the Capitol," she promised him without a trace of doubt, her eyes narrowing with the strength of her conviction. She caught a faint glimmer of a smirk flicker across Gale's expression as he leaned back.

"Excellent. I won't let you forget, you know."

"I don't intend on forgetting," she answered rather grimly as she, too, sat back. She suddenly heard a faint crackling noise nearby, and her head whipped around toward the source of the sound. The television was flickering on of its own accord. Gale, noticing her shift of attention, glanced over as well, and she saw him stiffen out of the corner of her eye. She bit her lip and straightened unconsciously. A grainy image appeared on the old screen, although it grew clearer by the moment to reveal a large, rather round object, one that she recognized well: a Cornucopia, in the center of a green clearing surrounded by trees. A circle of teenagers seemed to be rising out of the ground around the object.

Unconsciously, she reached across the table; she found herself grabbing Gale's big, callused hand and squeezing it tightly. A mechanical voice spoke from the television, counting down from ten. When the word "one" had evaporated into the air, a loud buzzer sounds, and suddenly everyone on screen was running.

She spoke then, and her words were low and musing.

"And so the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begins."


End file.
